Shadows of the North
by archtech88
Summary: Weselton has sent one of their nobles to try and convince Queen Elsa to get back to speaking terms with them. However, the noble they sent unknowingly brought something that could serve to destroy everything Elsa, Kristoff and Anna hold dear. Takes place after "Elsa and the Wendigo"
1. An Apology and a Few Gifts

"I can't believe that you're going through with this! Last time someone from from Weasel Town came to visit they tried to kill you!" said Anna said to Elsa they walked to the main hall.

Anna had been going on about the wretched Weasel Towners to Kristoff for the past few weeks, ever since the King of Weasel Town's currier had arrived with the message that he would send an agent to them to offer his formal apology within a few weeks.

Anna had tried to tear the letter up then and there but Elsa, older and wiser sister that she was, intervened and said that they should at least give them the chance to come to Arendelle so she could let them know their opinion in person.

Elsa turned to Anna and raised an eyebrow. "And the past two times people from the Southern Isles came to visit attempts were made on our lives, albiet in dramatically different ways, and yet we still speak with them."

Anna blushed. Prince Hans was still something of a sore spot for her. "That's not the same! Hans was punished and his brothers apologized as soon as they could! In any case, how could we have expected an ice monster to show up and give Hans magic? Besides, when did Weasel Town ever apologize to us?"

A few weeks before, the Southern Isles had indeed apoligized, although since their apology had conincided with the arrival of the Wendigo, a North American monster drawn to Arendelle by Elsa's massive surge of magic, it had been a much more terrifing ordeal than it might otherwise have been; it only ended when Hans had been torn apart, burned to ashes and scattered to the winds. The original Wendigo itself had been reforged into an Ice Crown and that was then cast deep into the ocean.

"Well they're here now, and considering how meek they've all been I bet that's what they're trying to do," said Kristoff in an attempt to assail Anna's frustration.

"Indeed, though I too would like to hear the reason for Weselton's delayed response. Just because I've granted him an audience doesn't mean I'm sweeping their rudeness and the actions of the Duke under the rug," said Elsa as they arrived at the door.

Kai was waiting for them when they got there and give them a bow before opening it for them and entering to introduce them.

"Your Majesty, presenting Lord Derek, Baron of Weasel Town," said Kai as they walked to their various spots on the dais; Elsa sat in the modest throne while Anna sat in a smaller one a little lower on it than her.

Lord Derek was a muscular man, though it seemed that this was more due to an active life than because he tried to bulk up. He also had thick, dark hair and almost black eyes. He was dressed in a uniform similar to the Duke's, but while the Duke's seemed to be covered with medals, Lord Derek had only a set of pins in his lapels and a sash. Behind the Baron trailed a number of retainers, each of whom carried boxes of various sizes.

Lord Derek bowed to them. "Your Majesty, first allow me to thank you once again for letting my ship dock at your harbor, as I realize it would have been well within your rights to order us to sail off without another word."

"What she should have done, I still think," muttered Anna under her breath.

This got her an angry glance from Elsa, who then turned back and gave a distant smile to Lord Derek. "You are welcome. Now about your apology."

"Of course. Your Majesty, Weselton is deeply ashamed at the actions the former Duke undertook while he was here. We do not condone the actions he took against you in any form and has been disciplined accordingly. Our King had not realized that his fear of magic had taken such deep roots within his mind and as such you will not need to worry about any further such interactions with the former Duke."

"Former Duke?" asked Anna, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes. Once our King discovered that the Duke had made an attempt on Queen Elsa's life, his title and lands have been stripped from him and he has been sent to our southern allies so that he might learn proper manners," said Lord Derek, gesturing to the men behind him to come forward as he did so. "Furthermore, I have brought with me these gifts as a token to further demonstrate our sincerity. While these will not change what has happened, I hope that they do mark the beginning of the damage that has been wrought upon our two nations' bond of friendship. I know that in the past we have been allies and it is my hope that one day we will be so again."

The men began to pile up boxed gift after boxed gift beside Elsa's throne until it had become a veritable mountain of boxes. "I am aware that the former Duke's actions affected both you and your sister, Queen Elsa, so I have done my best to include among these gifts things that you both might find helpful. As I became aware of your additions to your court," Lord Derek said with a glance towards Olaf, "a few days before I left, there are also some things there for them. Forgive me if that was presumptuous." With that, Lord Derek stood at attention as he waited for a response.

It took them some time to take in the gifts. Weselton was not known for its generosity so they were a remarkable show of sorrow in and of themselves, but Elsa wasn't convinced. "That was a very pretty speech, Lord Derek, but I feel that it is overdue. Prince Hans of the Southern Isles tried to kill me and my sister as well in his attempt to ascend to the throne of Arendelle, yet they sent his eldest brother up here as soon as possible to begin their reparations. Why the delay from Weselton?"

Lord Derek bowed. "Forgive me your Majesty, but the lords and princes of the Southern Isles are young men, all eager to impress and ensure that their lands are prosperous and remain on good terms with their neighbors. Weselton, on the other hand, is for the most part filled with crotchety old men who value their pocket books and for whom change is a strange and alien beast. So when the old lords of Weselton do strive for action, they do not do it by half measures. I for one moved that we send someone at once, but I was but a one voice among a legion, and a young voice at that."

Elsa took this all in, then spoke. "The old men of Weselton strive for finance. The young men of the Southern Isles strive for good terms and prosperity. What then do you strive for, Lord Derek?"

"Peace. Nothing more and nothing less. The King and I are less concerned about trade than that the people of Weselton are not hurt because the Duke was a fool."

Elsa sat back in her throne and thought about this before responding. "Very well. I will think about what to do with you and your peace. Until then, remain with us and enjoy what Arendelle has to offer."

Lord Derek bowed once more and left with his men. Anna turned to Elsa. "Why didn't you just tell him to leave? That's all they deserve, considering what they tried to do to you! He even said that they were a bunch of greedy old windbags," she said as her voice filled with anger.

"He also said that he wasn't here to negotiate the reopening of trade, only to offer an apology and peace. I think that I will allow him to return with his peace, if nothing else," said Elsa.

"That didn't have nearly as much shouting as I thought it would." said Kristoff as he walked in from one of the side halls that lead to the throne room. He did a double take at the pile of boxes near the throne. "Did he seriously just leave a pile of bribes for you?"

Anna laughed at that. "It's the Weasel Town way, I bet. When at first you don't succeed, send someone with a pile of stuff to change their minds later."

"I'm not sure they're just expensive things, Anna. It looks likes Lord Derek might have spent some time deciding what to gift. Here Kristoff, this one's for you," said Elsa as she pulled out a long, thin box.

Kristoff shrugged and walked up to take the gift. He opened it to find a long, thin sword. There was also a note:

_Kristoff: I heard from various sources how you raced back to the palace to save Anna and then tried to physically assault Prince Hans. While commendable, next time I suggest using the blade instead. I'd originally commissioned this from a Spanish sword-crafter by the name Domingo Montoya, but as the Consort to Princess Anna you will have more need of it than I. I have never used it, so you will be the first man after the crafter himself to wield it. I would be happy to offer you a few tips if you like, and I'm sure that Queen Elsa knows a blade master who could teach you the proper forms._

_Do well._

_Lord Derek, Baron of Weselton_

Kristoff pulled the sword from its sheath and stared. He was no great judge of swords, but this looked like it was a few levels beyond the few he'd ever encountered. He swung it around a couple of times to test it out. It felt good.

When Kristoff looked up he found that both Elsa and Anna had each pulled out boxes of their own and were reading the notes within. Elsa had a box of exotic coffees and teas while Anna had pulled out a box of Chocolate that looked like it had every type in the world. Anna looked up when she noticed Kristoff looking at her and blushed. "I think that he might actually have written something for each box. How does he know so much about us?" She asked as she got out another box.

"He said they don't do things by half measures in Weselton. I guess that extends to bribes too," said Elsa as she set her coffees down and pulled out a dress made with white and blue silk. "I'm going to invite him to join us for dinner tonight," she said as she stood up to see how the dress might look on her.

"Dinner!" said Anna, horrified. "It's one thing for him to write a bunch of creepy notes, but now you want to him to join us for a private dinner?"

"Aren't you at all curious about the notes?" asked Elsa as she set the dress down. "Kai, have the servants move these to a more secure room so that we might go through them at our own leisure," she said to Kai before turning back to Anna. "I for one would like to know more about this Lord Derek, if for no other reason than to discover why he knows so much about us."

Anna moaned, but Kristoff nodded in agreement. "Might as well ask him while he's here instead of worrying about it forever."

"But a _private dinner?"_ Anna asked again.

Elsa shrugged. "I'd rather learn why he knows about us in private instead of in front of the whole court. I'm sure that you don't want any personal secrets divulged to everyone here, hmm?"

Anna grumbled again, but nodded in agreement. "Alright, but that doesn't mean I have to like him."


	2. A Private Dinner

"He's an evil, scheming Weasel Towner and I just don't think that this is a good plan," said Kristoff yet again.

Anna laughed. "You're just upset because he thought to include some smart clothes for you," she said as she adjusted his dinner jacket for what felt like the dozenth time.

"I look like an idiot," muttered Kristoff as they joined Elsa in the dining hall.

"You look wonderful," said Anna as she slipped into his arm.

Elsa and Anna had ganged up on Kristoff as soon as they found the cornucopia of clothes that had been tailored to fit Kristoff. According to Lord Derek, these kinds of clothes were all the rage in Paris and so he'd included a smattering for Kristoff so that he might "Look Dapper." Kristoff had objected on the grounds that clothes with that many frills couldn't possibly be for men but Anna and Elsa had forced him into them anyway.

When he'd wondered how Lord Derek knew his measurements, Anna had shrugged and said "Another question to ask at dinner," and that was that. Anna, meanwhile wore a fetching green and yellow dress similar to the one that she'd first met Kristoff in.

When they walked into the dining room they found that they were among the first to arrive. Lord Derek's lack of presence wasn't surprising, since he might just be delaying his entrance until he thought it was appropriate, but they had both expected to find Elsa there.

"I wonder what she's up to?" asked Anna, looking around the room as if she might jump out from behind a chair or curtain to surprise them.

Just then Lord Derek burst into the room, panting for breath. Another man followed shortly after. The second man was a small, well put together fellow who seemed to give off an aura that screamed 'I am bland, ignore me.'

"That's another tenner you owe me, Jenkins!" said Lord Derek between breaths.

"I don't think so, sir," said the man Lord Derek called Jenkins.

"Why not? It's not as if … oh." Lord Derek paused, seeming to have only just noticed Anna and Kristoff. "Jenkins, head back to the ship, and never mind about the tenner you owe me from before."

Jenkins bowed to Lord Derek, then to Anna and Kristoff. "Of course milord. Princess Anna, Sir Kristoff, a pleasure to meet you both," and just like that he was gone.

Anna and Kristoff just stared at Lord Derek as he caught his breath. "What was that all about?" Kristoff asked while Lord Derek caught his breath.

" 's Jenkins. Manservant. Came up here with me and when we found no one else around he made me a bet that I couldn't beat him in a race down the dock and back before anyone else was here. Guess I underestimated how far it was," said Lord Derek as he caught his breath. After a while, he staggered up to the table, grabbed a pitcher of water and poured himself glass after glass until it was gone.

Kristoff was astonished to see that Lord Derek was wearing the same sort of frilly outfit that he was wearing although his wasn't marked with the sweat stains that ran across Lord Derek's. "I didn't think that I this was made for running in."

Lord Derek looked up and grinned. "I didn't think that I'd catch you in that! No, it's really not, I'll admit. Finery isn't meant for doing anything in except standing still or dancing in. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, but there's a time and a place." Lord Derek sniffed and then grimaced. "Although there's a time and place for running as well, and this wasn't that time either. I apologize."

Just then Lord Derek stood straight up, almost dropping both the glass and pitcher as he did so. Anna and Kristoff watched as the sweat stains turned to ice then vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind but unmarked and non-smelly clothes. Elsa had arrived.

"Lord Derek, I've asked Anna not to run in the halls. I didn't think I would need to tell you, but for future reference, please don't run in the castle."

"Of course, your Majesty," said Lord Derek with a bow to Elsa.

The four of them went to the table and once Elsa had seated herself, they sat to join her. Elsa had taken the blue and white dress that she'd found among Lord Derek's gifts and, like she'd done to her coronation gown, had modified it to her liking.

Kai and Gerda brought in the first course, a small salad, then retreated to the door.

"Just the four of us?" Asked Lord Derek as he shoveled into his salad.

"We don't normally have feasts fit for hundreds. If you're uncomfortable you may leave if you like," said Anna with a wave at the door.

Lord Derek spoke up right away. "No, I'm fine. It's just odd having such an intimate meal with the rulers of a realm after having only just met them. In fact, I don't think that I've ever had a meal with even another noble without it being a large, triumphant affair, so this is a nice change of pace. Are your meals normally like this, if you don't mind my asking?"

"The last few weeks they have been, yes," said Elsa. "It's nice to spend time with family and it gives me the chance to speak with Anna and Kristoff with as few prying ears as possible."

Kristoff, meanwhile, watched how he ate. He'd been raised by trolls, it was true, but it seemed that he had a better sense of decorum than Lord Derek did, who appeared to treat his fork as little more than a scoop than as the eating utensil it was. "I guess you don't know everything after all," said Kristoff, more to the Elsa and Anna than Lord Derek.

"Don't know everything about what?" asked Lord Derek, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"We just thought it was strange that you knew just what sort of gifts to bring to us and what our clothing sizes were," said Anna. She then hurried to fill her mouth with salad so she wouldn't need to respond.

Lord Derek gave a deep, barrel chested laugh. "Like I said, Weselton doesn't do things by half measure. But to answer your question, the former Duke is the one who guided me in selecting your gifts, more than not. He may be a complete idiot about seeing the bigger picture, but when it comes to noticing fine details there is no one I would rather have on my side than him."

Anna, Elsa and Kristoff all shifted nervously in their seats. The idea that the former Duke had been paying that much attention them in any way was unsettling.

"So do you like to watch, Lord Derek?" asked Elsa with a smirk. Anna snorted into her salad and Kristoff tried and failed to hide a smile.

Lord Derek shook his head no, appearing to have either not risen to the bait or had missed it entirely then said "The former Duke is leagues beyond me when it comes to things like that. I have other talents," Lord Derek said as he calmly poured himself a glass of wine. "For instance, I excel at going the distance. I will hammer long and hard against any barriers presented to me until things have reached their inevitable climax. More wine, Queen Elsa?"

Silence filled the room. Elsa began to blush, Anna played with her salad and Kristoff stared in admiration. Lord Derek just sipped at his wine until he couldn't contain himself anymore and he burst out laughing. "I am sorry, your Majesty, but you did ask," he said, wiping a tear away from his eye as he regrouped himself. With that the tension eased from the room and everyone laughed. Dinner went much smoother afterwards although the wine that came with each course helped the process along.


	3. Late Night Drinking

"And then it burst into flame! Just, poof! My whole livelihood, gone," said Kristoff as he swung a bottle of wine around to demonstrate.

"Hey, I replaced that!" said Anna, taking a deep drink from her own goblet after she spoke.

They had moved from their dinner table to more comfortable seating in the room with the gifts from Lord Derek, so now Kristoff and Anna leaned against a couch as they sat on the floor while Elsa had drug one of the comfier chairs into their circle. Lord Derek, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the cold wooden floor as he stared with all his might on his own bottle of wine.

"It's the principle of the thing! We could have waited until morning, when we wouldn't've had to worry about nighttime beasts or cliffs and still beaten the others to Elsa!"

"I thought that I replaced his sled," murmured Elsa as she sank deeper into her chair.

"You both did," said Kristoff as he attempted to avoid dangerous waters.

"Principals are important," muttered Lord Derek as he slowly lifted his bottle to look at it closer. "For instance, I am making it a principal that I shall finish this bottle of wine without help." he then uncorked it and guzzled it down, falling backwards as he did so.

"Thank you Lord Derek! My point is that if you weren't so jumpy about getting into stuff, half your problems would solve themselves!" said Kristoff as he waved an accusatory finger at Anna.

Lord Derek raised an arm from his spot on the floor and spoke up at that. "In her defense, leaping into things has worked out in her favor as well, Kristoff. If Anna hadn't tried to marry Hans, then Elsa might never have learned how to control her powers and the Duke would have sent more witch hunters after her."

Elsa perked up at that. "No, the Duke only sent his bodyguards, not witch hunters."

Lord Derek sat up from the floor and shook his head. "All Weselton bodyguards were trained as witch hunters after the Witch Queen of the North tried to kill the King of Weselton in his sleep. Never mind that she's dead now, it's still one of the first things they learn about. Is there any more wine?"

Elsa and Anna stared at Lord Derek as he glanced around the room in an attempt to find another unopened bottle of wine. He seemed almost unaware of the effect his casual statement and quick change of gears had on them.

"Are you saying that you brought a ship full of witch hunters to Arendelle? Into my home?" asked Elsa, her voice seething with anger.

"Like there aren't any number of witch hunters here already. Did you think that your parents wouldn't have prepared for that, just in case? I wouldn't have wanted a repeat of the Witch Queen of the North if I was them, especially if it was my own daughter who was doing the magic. Why else would there be a cell here designed with magic users in mind?"

Anna was fuming but Kristoff nodded in agreement with Lord Derek. He'd been raised by trolls so he'd heard any number of horror stories about magic users who went down the dark path. More often than not, the trolls and other forest folk would handle the situation before it got out of hand but the Witch Queen of the North had been a nightmare for everyone.

"Lord Derek, allow me. Anna, Elsa, have you heard anything about the Witch Queen?" Elsa and Anna shook their heads, so Kristoff went on. "I only know about her from the stories Grand Pabbie told me, but she was not a nice person. She subjugated much Weselton as well as part of the Southern Isles and would have made a move for Arendelle if not for Grand Pabbie."

"It took a veritable army of witch hunters to kill her, and we still lost so many men to her magic. The former Duke was one of the leaders in that final charge. Ever since he's taken a much more stringent stance against magic, but we had no idea that he was ready to go on the war path." Said Lord Derek in a somber tone.

"So, she couldn't control her powers?" asked Anna, her voice tinged with concern.

Lord Derek laughed. "Oh she could control her powers alright. You say that love is the key, and that's true, but there are many kinds of love. Love of power. Love of hate. Love of control. Love doesn't only mean positive things."

"And how would you know what kind of love drove her?" asked Elsa with ice dancing at her fingertips.

"Because I knew her at the beginning and I was at that charge and I saw how much she'd changed. In those last moments I don't think there was enough love left in her to merited sparing her. But what love is changes from person to person, so what worked for her would not work for you, God be praised. And in regards to my own bodyguards, your Majesty, if they touched even a hair on your head against your will I will ensure that they are punished accordingly. I give you my word." Lord Derek looked around at the now quiet and contemplative group and perked up. "Besides, anyone who could make as delightful a being as Olaf would never cross to the dark, I'm sure. But enough talk of those dark times! I say that we open another bottle of wine, or, if you are all willing, allow me to bring up a cask of ale from my ship so that we might all enjoy some of Weselton's finest drink!"

With that Lord Derek sauntered out into the hall and sang a little ditty to himself. Elsa sat in silence, absorbing his words. "What would you do if I went to the dark, Anna?" She asked in a quiet tone. "Would you stop me?"

"Elsa, please," Anna began, but Elsa interrupted her.

"Anna, I want you to promise me that if I ever go to the dark that you'll stop me no matter what it takes. Promise me," said Elsa as she sank onto the ground in front of them, near tears.

Anna shook her head no, unable to think of doing such a thing to her sister.

"I promise we'll stop you if it comes to that, but I hope it never does," said Kristoff finally, gently holding Elsa's hands in his.

"Thank you," said Elsa with a slight smile.

"And it won't come to that, I just know it!" said Anna in a cheerful voice, although Kristoff knew that she wasn't happy with him now. Anna loved Elsa and the idea that Kristoff might play a hand in her death, no matter how outlandish the idea was, did not sit well with her.

"I wonder why they never told us about her," said Elsa, less as a question and more as an idle musing.

"Who never told us about who?" asked Anna.

"Why our parents never told us about the Witch Queen. I'd never heard of her before now."

"I'll bet it was because they didn't want to scare you with stories about other people born with power who turned evil. Not something you tell a growing girl who can't control her own power, I'd think," said Kristoff to her, who had grown up hearing stories about people who went to the dark because his Troll family believed that tough love was important too.

"That makes sense. I guess my childhood would have been even more stressful if I thought that I might become a wicked witch at any moment," said Elsa with a smile.

"Instead of the beloved queen that you are," said Anna cheerfully.

"Indeed! All hail Queen Elsa, long may she reign!" cried Kristoff as he raised up a glass of wine.

"All hail Queen Elsa!" said Anna in chorus with him. Elsa just laughed and leaned into them, as all her fears drained away.


	4. Olaf and the Drinking Contest

**Author's Note: Me again. This is just a short little break before we jump back to Kristoff, Elsa and Anna. Don't worry, we'll find out what they've been up too soon enough! Meanwhile, enjoy!**

Olaf hadn't heard the conversation over dinner or the conversation that followed it as he had been outside keeping an eye the Weasel Town ship, but that was now only partly due to his suspicions about them. At the moment he was keeping an eye on them because the Weasel Towners had long since invited him aboard and had been quizzing him about what he was and how he worked. He seemed to fascinate them.

"How do you hear things if you don't have any ears?" asked one of the sailors as he took a deep drink from some strange, brown colored liquid.

"Maybe he can't. Maybe he just reads lips," mused another sailor.

"I'm standing behind him, so does that mean he can't hear me?" asked a third sailor.

"I can hear you just fine," said Olaf to the assembled sailors, who all gasped and laughed.

"It's a miracle!" cried a different sailor in the crowd.

This got laughs from several other sailors, though those laughs died when a man dressed in black walked onto the deck. "Miracles only come from God Almighty. This is a thing of magic." He said magic like it was something dirty.

"Fuck you, yah paranoid bastard. If I say it's a miracle, then it's a God damn miracle, and hang what you say!" said the first sailor, to a general cheer. The man in black scowled and stormed back down into the depths of the ship.

"Who was that?" asked Olaf of the first sailor, unnerved by the man in black for reasons he couldn't quite put into words.

"He's a witch hunter the King stuck with us. He's been goin' on about how this whole kingdom is covered with dark sorcery of the foulest kind. Bloody idiot, if you ask me," said the sailor. He spit at where the witch hunter had been.

"If there's anyone covered in darkness, it's that fucker. Just look at his clothes," said a large sailor with a red frill of hair. The whole crew laughed at that.

"I'm not dark magic. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was," said Olaf as he felt himself to see if he could tell where the various kinds of magic began and ended.

Just then, a large, booming voice filled the air. "Gentleman, let down the plank! I need to get some supplies from the ship!"

Olaf looked up to find that the Baron of Weasel Town had returned to his ship. "Did they finally kick you out?" he asked, and the Baron laughed.

"Hardly! I might have shaken them out of their ruts a bit, but I return only for a cask of our finest ale! That means you assholes can't drink it anymore, so step lively!"

The crew moaned, but it was more for show than any actual objection to what he said, as it was only a few moments later that an unopened cask appeared at the Baron's feet.

The Baron turned to leave, and then turned back around. "And another thing! Tell everyone that anyone who's qualified as a witch hunter is to go nowhere near her Majesty, Queen Elsa or her sister. In fact, no one is to call her a witch, no matter how drunk you are," he added after some deliberation. "If anyone objects, their stuffing is to be beaten out by those who don't." The crew cheered at that, as they all knew who he was talking about. The Baron lifted the cask onto his shoulder and turned to leave, then set it down again and turned around to stare at Olaf. "What are you?" he asked.

" 'S Olaf sir! He's the queen's royal snowman! Says he likes warm hugs," said the first sailor.

"Olaf, hmm? You seem surprisingly sober, considering whose company you share," said the Baron as he knelt down to get eye level with Olaf.

"Oh, I can't drink," said Olaf cheerfully.

"Can't, or don't?" asked the Baron. Olaf could tell that wheels were turning in the Baron's head but didn't know what those wheels might be or what they would mean for him.

"Not sure. Never had a drink before," said Olaf. The crew gasped.

"Never ever?" asked the second sailor.

"Never ever," confirmed Olaf.

"Well then, it's time we do some figuring out! Olaf the royal snowman, I challenge you to a drinking contest, with a tenner going to the last one standing!" cried the Baron. The crew cheered again.

"I can't see anything wrong with that, so I accept!" said Olaf as he shook hands with the Baron.

"Now before we begin, I think that you have a bit of catching up to do, seeing as how I have already drunk two bottles of wine on my own, so it's only fair that you drink two as well, just to be on a level playing field. Jenkins! Two bottles of fine wine for our friend here. I hope you're good at speed drinking, Olaf, as I want to get this started as soon as possible!"

A small, plain man vanished and reappeared a few moments later with two bottles of wine. "Two bottles of fine wine for Olaf, milord," said the man as he handed them down to Olaf.

They'd already been opened and that was fine by Olaf, as he'd seen a few sealed wine bottles and hadn't been sure how he was supposed to open them on his own. "Do I just drink them, or should I pour them into a cup?" he asked as he grasped a bottle in each hand.

"A mug for you, Olaf!" said the first sailor, who then handed him a bucket. "Should be large enough to hold both of them together!"

"If you say so," said Olaf with a shrug. Then he dumped both bottles into the bucket. People were still something of a mystery to him, so maybe this was how they drank lots of wine at once. He'd always wondered. Once both bottles were empty, he lifted up the bucket and drank it all down, as his large mouth was more than up to the task of catching all of it.

Lord Derek and the sailors watched with wonder as the little snowman changed from white to red then faded back to white.

"That tasted funny, but I think I liked it. What's next?" said Olaf with a cheerful grin, totally unaffected by the wine.

"Where did it go?" wondered the second sailor.

"It's another miracle!" cried the sailor from before.

"Silence!" boomed the Baron and the sailors feel quiet. "Things are not always as they seem. Olaf, how do you feel?"

"The same way I did before. Should I not?" asked Olaf.

"I don't know. I've never met a living snowman before you, so you might have a higher alcohol tolerance than most. No matter! Bring us a cask of ale, men. I intend to see this through to the bitter end!" The sailors cheered again and brought up what the Baron asked for, along with two cups.

Olaf got the feeling that it was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>"You just keep on drinkin.' It's like, you don't stop. You are truly a gifted being, Olaf," said the Baron as he staggered forward.<p>

"It's not that hard, I can see how everyone does it so easily!" said Olaf with a very happy grin. The ale they'd been giving him was starting to make him feel a little odd, but overall he felt just as alert as he had before. Unlike the Baron, who was only just able to stand on both his feet.

"No no! You have been blessed by your wonderful, beautiful maker with a talent that many would die for. I concede this victory to you, Olaf," said the Baron, bowing as he did so. He feel forward onto his face, then sprang up again. "I'm alright! Now, what time is it? I need to go and take a cask of ale back up to the wonderful Elsa. I mean, Queen."

"It's been a little more than an hour, milord," said Jenkins, ever sober and alert.

"Damn! Lost track of the time. Olaf, gentlemen, I must be off! Give me a cask of ale!" The sailors scrambled to get the Baron a cask of ale and once it was securely tied to his back, 'So you won't drop it, sir,' the Baron stumbled down the plank they'd used to connect the ship to the dock and disappeared into the night, singing a loud song about a lady in red as he did so.

"Well, that was fun! Who wants to play a game?" said Olaf to the remaining sailors. They all let up a cheer and Olaf smiled. This was a good night.


	5. Practice Touching

"So if I do this, how does it feel?" asked Elsa as she ran a hand tinged with cold down Krisoff's back as he lay on the floor.

"Really good," said Kristoff as he shivered with pleasure. There was something about feeling her cold touch brush against him that made him feel more alive than he had in quite some time.

"I know, right? She's gotten a lot better at touching people ever since she opened the doors," said Anna from the couch, not looking at the pair of them at all. Although they'd stopped drinking shortly after Lord Derek left, both she and Elsa had grown more and more inebriated as the night had gone on. Elsa seemed to handle it better than Anna, but only by a little bit.

"I still have a lot of catching up to do though," said Elsa as she ran her hand up and down his back.

"Well, Kristoff is great at touching, so he's good for you. Feel free to practice with him as much as you like," said Anna as she stretched out on the couch.

Kristoff rolled over to stare at Anna in surprise. He knew that Anna was close with her sister, but she was a human and so he'd more or less put Elsa out of mind. His troll family was more than open about this sort of thing, but that was part of the problem. They were trolls and their love for each other knew no bounds. Kristoff, meanwhile, had grown up thinking that other humans wouldn't be willing to be as accepting of others in their relationships.

Elsa, on the other hand, just got a big grin on her face. "So it would be alright if I did this," she said as she began to tickle Kristoff.

"Hey, cut that out!" said Kristoff with a laugh. He curled up to avoid the tickles to his side, but that just left more space for Elsa to attack.

"Anna said I could practice touching people and I intend to!" she said, calling up more cold and changing her tickling tactics as she did so.

Kristoff groaned and tried to roll away from her, although more out of obligation to make a fuss than from any real objection to the tickles.

This action came as a surprise to Elsa and her dress got tangled up with him as he rolled away, pulling her into his roll.

When he finally got free from her, Kristoff found that he was now straddling Elsa, who grinned and tried to start tickling him from below.

"Cut it out!" said Kristoff as he grabbed one of her hands and pinned it to the ground. Elsa just tickled him more with her other hand, laughing all the while as she did so. Kristoff made several grabs for her while trying to ensure that the pinned hand remained where it was and Elsa writhed around beneath him so that she'd be hard to catch.

When he finally pinned her other hand to the ground, they were both breathing hard and Elsa was blushing. Kristoff realized the position he'd put Elsa into and discovered that he didn't want to let her go just yet.

"Kristoff …" said Elsa in a soft tone as her face took on a deep red tone.

"Elsa …" began Kristoff, but he was interrupted as soon as he started to speak.

"Behold! For I have brought ale!" cried a loud voice from the door. Kristoff looked up to see that Lord Derek had returned. He got off of Elsa and helped her to her feet, brushing off invisible specks of dirt as he did so.

"Who's there?" mumbled Anna from the couch, having missed the whole exchange.

"Lord Derek, we didn't think that you were coming back," said Elsa as she shook out the wrinkles from having rolled around on the floor out of her dress.

"I got distracted while visiting my ship. Your snowman has a very high alcohol tolerance! I commend you for your foresight!"

"Alcohol tolerance? What are you talking about?" asked Kristoff with a questioning glance at Elsa, who shrugged.

"We had a little drinking bout, he and I, and he came out as quite the sober winner! Why, if I had half his tolerance I'd never be drunk again!" said Lord Derek in a cheerful tone.

Anna started to snore.

"And she's out," said Lord Derek as he took a long look at Anna. He looked up at Kristoff and Elsa and sheepishly said "I suppose I did get back a bit late to start drinking with you more, didn't I?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Perhaps a bit."

"Well, in that case I suppose I should take the Princess to bed and tuck her in, shouldn't I?' said Lord Derek.

"Now wait just a minute," began Elsa as she tried to march toward Lord Derek although she was only able to hit a table as she stumbled forward.

"Hold, your Majesty. I well and truly mean to take her to her room and tuck her in, that was all. I thought that you and Kristoff might enjoy the chance to finish your conversation in peace, as you did look rather tangled up in it."

Elsa blushed and Kristoff gaped at him like a fish.

"Next floor up, it's the door with green on it," said Anna in a dreary voice from the couch. "But you have to promise no funny stuff."

"Thus I promise, and thus it is done!" said Lord Derek as he placed his hand on his heart. "Now, uppsie daisy, Princess Anna," he added as he scooped her up into his arms. He staggered with her out into the hall and bellowed "Make way for the next floor! I have the princess and there is to be no funny business!"

Elsa stared out the door at where Lord Derek been and had a blank look on her face.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure," said Kristoff. He was unconvinced, himself, but his doubts weren't what Elsa needed to hear.

Elsa just worked her towards the couch Anna had just been lifted from and sank into it. "What happened, Kristoff? I want to say it wasn't anything, or that it was wine from before, but I know that's not true. Is it."

Kristoff knew it wasn't a question. "No. I've felt things about you ever since I met you, Elsa. It's like you're my world come to life. Beautiful, dangerous, cold, and no matter what I do I just can't imagine life without you. Anna fills a spot in my heart that I didn't know was empty, but you, God, you fill the rest of it up with all that was there and more." He went over and joined her on the couch, and she curled up against him. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. Her skin was icy cold, but it felt good against his. He didn't want to let her go.

"What are we going to do, Kristoff? I don't want to hurt Anna, but if you stay any longer then one day we'll not be able to stop ourselves. I feel like I should tell you to go, but if you left then I'm not sure what I would do."

She began to cry into his shoulder, and Kristoff just held her like that for a while. "We don't have to think about it yet, Elsa. We have time. Let's just stay here for now and think about it more in the morning."

He felt her nod. She laid her head against his chest and felt him breath in and out, over and over, and the gentle beat of his heart lulled her to sleep.

Kristoff thought about untangling her from him and going to join Anna in bed, but when he started to get up, he realized that wasn't where he wanted or needed to be now, so he laid with Elsa on the couch and drifted off to sleep as well.


	6. The Next Morning

Anna woke up that morning to what sounded like a pack of wolves attacking a swarm of locusts at the foot of her bed. When she tried to get up to see what it really was, she found that she had been wrapped up in what seemed to be a veritable cocoon of bed sheets that more or less served to trap her in her bed. After some effort, she managed only to roll out of bed onto the floor with a loud thud.

The noise stopped the instant she hit the ground. "No fun shall pass!" cried a deep male voice and she saw a massive figure unfurl itself from the base of her bed and wave a sword around.

"Lord Derek? What are you doing here?" Anna asked as slow recognition came. She remembered drifting off to sleep on the couch as she listened to Elsa tease Kristoff, and then nothing.

"Well, I carried you in here after you feel asleep, but I'm not sure of things after that, I think I tucked you in as well, " he said as he came around to where she was.

"So it would seem," said Anna as she struggled to free herself.

Lord Derek chuckled when he saw her and raced to her side. "I must have used a boatman's knot in my attempt to tuck you in, your Highness. Let me help you with that," he said as he rolled Anna onto her belly. A few moments later she was free.

"Next time you don't need to tuck me in so tight, Lord Derek," she said as she examined herself. She was still wearing the dress from the night before. Other than a few stains, it seemed to be the same was it had been whenever Lord Derek had put her into bed.

"There's going to be a next time, your Highness?" asked Lord Derek with a kind half smile.

Anna blushed at that. "If there's a next time, which there won't be, because you won't be here to tuck me in. Not that I doubt your honor, of course, but you should go now," she said, as she walked over to him and pushed him towards the door. "Thank you for everything, good bye!"

She slammed the door shut after him and slid down to rest against it. What had happened last night? She remembered giving Elsa a toast but after that everything went fuzzy. Maybe Elsa and Kristoff would know better.

She took the time to get cleaned up from the previous night before she went out, washing away the smells of yesterday and putting on some clean clothes. Once Anna was sure that she looked ready for a new day, she opened the doors, peaked out to ensure that Lord Derek had indeed left, then to Elsa's chambers to ask her about just what had gone on while she was out of it.

Elsa didn't answer when she knocked, or even when she shouted into the keyhole. A few months ago this wouldn't have surprised her, but Elsa and Anna had been much more open to talking to one another after Elsa had come down from the mountain.

"Maybe she fell asleep in the other room and just stayed there," Anna mused to herself as she went back to where they'd been last night.

When she walked in she found Elsa curled up in Kristoff's arms on the couch. She blinked a couple times. Of all the things she'd expected to find, this was low on the list. "At least she's getting comfortable with touching people again," said Anna as she went down to the kitchens to get some breakfast for herself and settle her nerves.

As she went down, a loud, frantic conversation stopped her in her tracks. She found a corner nearby that was just out of sight so she could listen to it.

"I'm telling you sir, we've searched everywhere and it just isn't on the ship anymore," said a twitchy, high pitched voice.

"It can't have just vanished; it's not capable of that sort of thing on its own. I imagine that someone just moved it somewhere out of the way and forgot about it. I want the whole ship searched again, top to bottom. No room unopened, no box unopened, no stone unturned. Do you understand? We have to find it." Lord Derek's unforgettable baritone rang through the halls and she wondered who he was talking to.

"Milord, I told you, we've already looked the ship over high and low three times and it's not there. I think that it may be here in Queen Elsa's castle."

"What the devil would it be doing here?" asked Lord Derek, annoyed.

"Think about it sir. Sleek, ebony box, very fancy looking. If it had been placed near the gifts then it might have wandered in with them."

"Jesus Christ. If they find it they might see Estelle," said Lord Derek in a worried tone. It was strange, because in the short time she'd known him she got the distinct impression that he wasn't one to fret. She began to wonder about just what this mirror was, since she knew that she'd seen a box like the one they must be talking about.

"I'm sure Estelle will be fine, milord. I suggest that we just come back later, once Queen Elsa is up and about, and ask her about it then," the twitchy voice said.

"I could just go up and fetch it now, you know. I doubt that the her Majesty and Kristoff are up just yet. They did have a lot to drink last night. Besides, it wouldn't be too hard to find with a bit of effort."

"I'm not sure that surprising the Queen like that would be a good plan sir. Best to wait for now."

"Of course. No sense in ruining the trip after only a single day," said Lord Derek.

The voices faded after that and Anna raced back to the room with the gifts, intent on finding whatever mirror they were talking about. It had to be special if they were so concerned about it, and just taking a peak wouldn't hurt anyone.


	7. In Their Arms

Kristoff woke up early the next morning as the light was coming in through the windows above them. The whole room had been ringed with windows, so that no matter where the sun was in the sky, the light would always shine in.

Elsa stirred in his arms as she felt him wake up. "Morning," she said as she nestled in closer to him.

"Morning. How do you feel today, Elsa?" said Kristoff with a bright smile.

Elsa moaned. "Like someone hit my head with a hammer. I never want to drink again."

Kristoff laughed. "I bet. You were pretty out of it last night."

Elsa hit him with her elbow. "I wasn't that out of it. We still need to have that talk."

"Yeah. Not looking forward to that," said Kristoff with a heavy sigh.

"What are you afraid of, Mister I Was Raised By Trolls? I would think that you wouldn't mind facing Anna after what you've been through together."

"Well you're her sister. How much are you going to enjoy it?"

"Ugh. Let's just stay here a few moments longer, please? We won't need to think about it so long as we don't get up," said Elsa as she nuzzled into his arms.

"Fine by me," said Kristoff, and he lay back and shut his eyes again.

A few moments later the door burst open and they heard a gasp, then the door slammed shut again and the pitter patter sound of distant running filled the air.

"Please tell me that wasn't Anna," said Elsa as she poked her head up above the couch.

"Don't know. I had my eyes shut," said Kristoff as he tried to concentrate on falling back asleep.

"Ha ha. Well, I'm getting up to so that I'll look presentable before she comes back and dies of a heart attack," said Elsa as she started to get up.

Kristoff just closed his arms around her. "Nope, I just fell asleep again. You're trapped."

Elsa giggled as she tried to free herself. "Kristoff, let me be! I am your Queen, you know," she said with a hearty push against his arms.

"But I'm a troll, and we turn to stone in the daylight. Looks like you're stuck here until nightfall."

Elsa laughed and leaned into him and lay there for a moment longer. "We really do need to be up and about, Kristoff. No need to set the rumor mill spinning any more than it might already be."

"Yeah," he said with a sigh, and let Elsa go.

She stayed with him a moment longer, then got up and stretched. "I'm going to go put on something queenly. Keep an eye on the door, will you?" she said as she sauntered over to the pile of gifts from Lord Derek and the rest of Weselton.

Kristoff was up like a shot when he realized what she meant. He got together some loose cloth and wrapped it around the door handles, ensuring that it wouldn't accidentally open up. No sense in letting some servant get a better view of his Queen than needed, after all.

Elsa, meanwhile, took her time slipping the clothes from the night before. The first thing she did was to remove the ice weave from it. Ice weave was Elsa's way of modifying clothes to her liking, and often parts of the original clothing wouldn't survive the transition. Such was the case now, as the entire back of her dress simply fell away. Next came her shoulder straps, and so soon Elsa was bare from the waist up. A few shimmies later and the bottom half of her dress fell away as well.

Kristoff tried not to stare, but he couldn't help but watch when he knew this was almost certainly all for him.

"Are you watching?" asked as she looked at him from over her shoulder. A mischievous smile danced across her face.

"Uh, oh, yeah. I most certainly am," Kristoff said as he tried to take his mind off of everything that had to do with the vision of loveliness in front of him.

"The door, I mean," said Elsa with a laugh.

"Oh. Right. Yes, I mean, oh yeah. I don't think that anyone's trying to get in," Kristoff said as he turned back to take a quick look at the door.

When he turned back around to sneak another look at Elsa, he found that she had already found a dress to her liking and was most of the way in putting it on. He sighed in disappointment, but quickly turned around when he heard the door rattle. "Elsa, you might want to hurry up," he said as he turned to consider undoing the knot.

"I'm ready. Let them in," she said as she tossed her hair.

A few moments later and the door opened up to reveal Anna on the other side.

"Good morning, Anna!" said Kristoff cheerfully. He hoped that she hadn't been waiting too long or had started to wonder what they were doing.

"Morning Kristoff, morning Elsa. I love your new dress," she said as she made her way over to the mound of gifts.

"Thank you, Anna. I don't think I'm going to modify this one. I rather like it," Elsa said as she sashayed away from the gifts she'd been undressing in front of.

"That's good, it's a good look," said Anna, not paying much attention to her as she did so. Anna had focused her gaze on digging through the mound of gifts in front of her and seemed to be looking for something in particular.

"Do you want any help?" asked Kristoff as Elsa worked her way over to stand next to him, but Anna just shook her head.

"No, I'm fine!" She said as she dug in deeper.

Kristoff sidled up next to Elsa and whispered in her ear. "She seems pretty content considering that she walked into a surprise cuddle earlier."

"Don't count on it," whispered Elsa back to him. "She's gotten good at hiding things, but I know it's eating her up inside. We need to talk about this before any longer."

"Yeah," said Kristoff as he looked at Anna. "Anna, there's something I want to ask you about," he began, but Anna ignored him.

"Here it is!" she said as she pulled out an ebony box. She carefully lifted the lid off of it and gasped.

"There's a little girl here," she said, trailing off as she did so.

Elsa and Kristoff went around to look down at the box from behind her, but they saw nothing more than their own reflections.

"Are you sure," said Elsa as she began to question Anna, but she too yelped in surprise as the mirror's reflection changed yet again.

No longer was it their own faces looking back at them. Instead, there was a deathly pale face that floated there against an inky black darkness.


	8. The Mirror

"It's a magic mirror," said Anna as she gazed into it.

The floating face did nothing, content instead to just look out into the space in front of it. It might well have been nothing more than a painting if not for the fact that they'd all seen it come into being.

"I've only heard stories about these. If this is anything like those, then it's really rare," said Elsa as she, too, looked at it with fascination.

"I've heard about them too," said Kristoff as he looked at it and shivered. Grand Pabbie had told him any number of stories about easy to use magical items. They always wound up containing some hidden cost that took much more from the user than it gave back. Nothing worth doing was worth taking the easy route, magic most of all.

"Let's see what it can do," said Anna as she took it out and placed it against a pile of boxes. She knelt in front of it and asked "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" She wriggled with anticipation at the answer.

"Why on Earth would you want to know?" asked Kristoff.

She said as she looked up at him with grin. "I've always wanted to ask. Besides, aren't you curious at all?"

"Not really," said Kristoff as he looked at the mirror with suspicion. "I've already met the most beautiful girl in the world, so why should I worry about what some mirror thinks?"

Anna ignored him and stared into it. The face in the mirror, meanwhile, just raised an eyebrow and shook its head, revealing nothing.

Anna frowned. "Why isn't it working? Maybe it's not that powerful after all."

"Or maybe you asked it wrong. It's not on a wall, after all. It might not think you're talking to it, or it could just be a face that shows up whenever you want to use it, or it could just be incompetent," said Kristoff with a smirk.

"So we can all remember to thank Lord Derek for his broken magic mirror when we see him next," said Elsa with a laugh.

The face in the mirror scowled and then exploded into a rainbow mass of colors that radiated against the darkness behind it in the mirror. The room darkened and the mirror began to pulse with a burning light that they could almost feel against their very souls. Shapes began to form and slowly the image of a young woman working hard in a garden appeared. She had snow white skin, raven black hair and bright, blood red lips. She looked up at once, as if she could feel their gaze on her from where they were. Then the image faded back into the face from before. It looked very pleased with itself.

"What's her name, Kristoff?" asked Anna in colder tone than usual as she continued to look into the mirror.

"I don't know, she looks like she could be anyone," answered Kristoff, confused by the question.

Anna looked up at him with annoyance, eyes blazing and filled with a dark shadow that Kristoff hadn't seen in them before. "Well, you said you'd already met the most beautiful girl in the world. I just wanted to know what her name was."

"The name of the most beautiful girl in the world is Anna," said Kristoff.

Elsa nodded in approval, but Anna missed it. "Her name is Anna? I didn't realize you knew another Anna. It must have been weird for you when you met me."

"You're the only Anna I know," said Kristoff as he rolled his eyes.

"Then what do you … oh," she said with a blush as recognition dawned. "Then what were you doing with Elsa this morning?" she asked, looking up at Kristoff with hurt and anger in her eyes.

"We feel asleep like that last night, Anna, that's all," said Elsa. She knelt down and tried to put her arms around Anna, but Anna jerked away from her towards the mirror.

"So what were you doing with him before that?" she asked Elsa in a menacing tone that Kristoff had never heard from her before.

"Nothing worth worrying about, Anna. We talked and then fell asleep," said Kristoff.

"I think that it's my place to decide if it's worth worrying about or not, Kristoff," said Anna as she turned her glare on him.

"No, I don't care what time it is, I'm not going to sit on the ship and worry about this for hours on end, Jenkins!" came Lord Derek's booming voice from just outside the door. Elsa almost ran to answer it while Anna hurried to hide the mirror.

Elsa opened it to find Lord Derek's hand curled up into a fist which vanished as soon as he saw Elsa standing there. "Lord Derek, what a surprise. What brings you here at this hour?" she said in a serene tone, although Kristoff knew that she was relieved by his presence.

"Forgive me, your Majesty, but I think that one of my personal items was delivered to you by accident the other day," said Lord Derek with concern in his voice.

"Oh? And what manner of thing might it be?" asked Elsa. Anna's face fell and Kristoff knew even before Lord Derek spoke what he was searching for.

"It would be an antique mirror kept in a smooth ebony box. It is very precious to me," he said as he scanned over the pile of gifts in an obvious attempt to see where it might be.

"I've been through everything, and nothing like that has shown up," said Anna as she moved to hide the mirror better.

"Would you mind if I took a quick look, then? I wouldn't hurt anything, I promise," said Lord Derek in desperation.

"You may not," said Anna in a stern, angry tone that sounded wrong coming from her. Kristoff thought that she might have stood up in a regal huff if she hadn't been trying to hide the mirror at the same time.

"But I will have the castle looked over and will inform you tomorrow if it does turn up, I promise," said Elsa just as fast.

Lord Derek's face turned into a scowl for a brief moment, but that soon faded into a neutral smile. "Thank you, your Majesty. You are too kind." He turned to leave, then paused as if he'd just remembered something. "Kristoff, I was wondering if you would like me to teach you a few stands with the sword I gifted you. Not right now, persay, as I think that I've interrupted something again, but perhaps in a couple hours time?"

"The main hall at noon? I think that there is some practice gear that has fallen into misuse, and this would be the perfect time to bring it all out," said Elsa.

"Splendid! Thank you again, your Majesty. Kristoff, I shall see you at noon!" Said Lord Derek, who bowed Elsa and then sauntered out.

Once he was gone, Elsa turned to Anna and fixed her with a steely glare and Anna withered beneath it. "One day Anna. I don't know what you plan to do with it and I don't care, but at noon tomorrow Lord Derek is going to get his mirror back one way or another."

A cold wind began to blow from Elsa towards Anna and she nodded fast. "That's fine, Elsa, no worries. I just wanted to see what it can do before I never see another one ever again." Anna looked to Kristoff for back up. When he said nothing, she huffed, picked up the mirror and stormed out.

"Shouldn't you have gone to help her with that?" Asked Elsa.

Kristoff shook his head. "If she wants to play with that mirror all day, that's fine, but I don't want to have anything more to do with it. Grand Pabbie says that magic shouldn't be bound or it'll get ideas and that face seemed pretty shifty to me. I for one would have loved to have given it back to Lord Derek when he asked for it. Let him deal with it."

Elsa nodded in sympathy. "I know what you mean. Just being near it made me feel cold and weak; I think that if I'd stayed near it any longer I would have turned blue."

"I thought that the cold didn't bother you?" Asked Kristoff.

Elsa nodded. "It doesn't, shouldn't. That's why I'm afraid."


	9. Swordplay

"Good block, but not fast enough. Again!" Lord Derek railed against Kristoff who only just managed to keep him back.

Kristoff had grown to think of the nobility as folk who did not fight if they didn't have to. Sure, they might carry a good sword and even know how to use it, but it was more an ornament or an art form to them than an actual weapon. Lord Derek, on the other hand, threw himself into battle like a berserking warrior. It was all controlled, of course, but Kristoff got the impression that he wasn't one to lead from the sidelines or the back.

"I need a rest," said Kristoff, panting like a dog as Lord Derek danced away from him.

"Nonsense, you just need to block better! How do you expect to win a fight if you can't block?" said Lord Derek as he readied a charge.

"By talking it out," said Kristoff, wincing in anticipation of the pain to come.

"Perhaps this might be a good time to stop, Lord Derek, if only for water," said Elsa from the sidelines.

"I suppose so. Ten minutes, everyone!" he said to his assembled students, who all sighed in relief.

The lesson had started as something between just Kristoff and Lord Derek, but the abundance of practice gear that Elsa had found and the numerous servants and guardsmen observers prompted Lord Derek to turn it into a mass lesson for the lot of them. Kristoff served as his guinea pig for all the techniques he thought they were ready for.

Kristoff limped over to Elsa and slunk down into a seat in front of her. "I'm not sure how much more help I can put up with from Lord Derek, Elsa. He seems so jolly but I swear he's trying to beat me to bloody pulp whenever we fight." He looked up at Lord Derek, who was now trying to convince Kai to join them on the training floor. Kai was resisting, but only because Gerda there and her iron will wasn't one to be crossed.

"I'm sure that he's just doing his best to get through your thick skull," said Elsa as she placed her hands on his most sore spots. The ache in them soon faded as the cold washed over him and he relaxed.

"That feels good. Thank you, Elsa," he said as he turned and smiled at her.

"Focus," she said as batted his head with her hand, though she said it with a smile.

Lord Derek must have seen Kristoff relax, because he ended his talk with Kai and came bounding over. "I think that's break time enough for the pair of you. Back on your feet, Kristoff, there are some things I think that you might be ready to learn that the others aren't far enough along to try."

Lord Derek led Kristoff over to a spot in the hall where there weren't many people and got down into a fighting stance. "First, let's be sure that you get your starting stance," he said in a booming voice.

Kristoff sighed and readied himself, raising the sword to defend against Lord Derek's inevitable onslaught. To his surprise, though, Lord Derek just walked around him in an apparent examination of his stance.

"Very good, your feet are a bit far apart though," Lord Derek said loudly, and then in a much softer tone, he said "You and Queen Elsa must be quite close, hmm? Or Princess Anna is much more open in her relationships than most."

"I don't know what you mean. I'm as much a friend to Queen Elsa as anyone in my position might be," stammered Kristoff.

Lord Derek didn't buy it for a moment. "So your intimate wrestling last night was just simple playfulness, then?" Much louder he said, "Good! Now, ten o'clock attack!"

Kristoff changed stances and Lord Derek inspected him again. "Nothing more than that. Princess Anna wanted me to work with Queen Elsa to help her get more comfortable with contact toward others. It might have gotten a bit out of hand, but that's all it was."

"Indeed. So the muffled shouting I heard at your door this morning were just friendly hellos? Didn't sound like it to me, but who am I to judge?"

"Um, that was, that is to say," began Kristoff, unsure of what to say.

"I think that you need to get your priorities sorted out, Kristoff. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna both appear to be wonderful women and if you broke their hearts it would end poorly for you."

"Are you threatening me, Lord Derek?" Asked Kristoff as he shifted into one of the few other stances he knew and tried to look threatening.

"Splendid! Excellent form, well done!" said Lord Derek with glee, not intimidated by Kristoff at all. "No, I am just applying my knowledge of women to your own situation and extrapolating the logical consequences of angering the royal family of Arendelle, unless you three are radically different than most. I for one would be more than happy to see everything work out in your favor. After all, happy rulers mean stable rulers and stable rulers mean stable countries, and there's nothing better for everyone than that. But those are just my personal observations. As for anything else, I promise to not say a word about your closeness with Elsa, but you really should be careful. Rumor is a nasty thing. Now, about those special forms I mentioned. First stance!"

Kristoff groaned and went into first stance and spent another hour learning stance after stance until his body ached from them all. Near the end, they had gathered another small crowd as the rest of the trainees gathered to watch Kristoff get his stuffing beat out via sword.

When the sun was low in the sky, Lord Derek let Kristoff go free. "You've made excellent progress, but there's still much room for growth! I advise that you find a teacher or all of this will go out the window. Queen Elsa, thank you again for letting us use your practice equipment. Gentlemen, I hope that you have learned at least a little bit in my brief time with you, and I promise that if you go to the pub nearest the castle then there will be a round of drinks from me waiting for you there!" This got a lot of cheers and earned Lord Derek a number of slaps on the back.

Kristoff, meanwhile, limped his way over to Elsa. "It is Lord Derek's suggestion that we resolve the situation between ourselves and Anna as soon as possible."

Elsa turned away from observing the rest of the 'class' and looked at Kristoff with horror. "Lord Derek saw us? God, I thought that he wouldn't have remembered, as drunk as he seemed the other night. For goodness sake, I only remember because I know I made a conscious effort to not forget."

"He implied that he heard us fighting this morning as well, and he's not stupid, no matter what else he may come off as," said Kristoff as he rubbed his sore legs. "He did say that he wasn't going to tell anyone, but it's only a matter of time before people start to talk about us, even if it's only been a couple of days. You were right; we need to talk to Anna about us, whatever we turn out to be."


	10. Dangerous Toys

It took Anna quite some time before she was able to haul the mirror all the way up to her chambers. It was larger than a normal mirror, and it seemed to grew heavier with each step she took. She wasn't sure if she was glad that she had no help or frustrated. On the one hand, it gave her a good reason to stay angry with Kristoff since he wasn't here to help her move it. On the other hand, though, help would have been nice and the emptiness in the halls was a little disconcerting. She hadn't wanted to run into Lord Derek, of course, since it was his mirror, but there weren't any servants either. So far as she could tell, there wasn't anyone at all.

After Anna finally got to her chambers and fumbled around with the door handle while not setting the mirror down, she finally was able to set the mirror down and take a good look at it. It seemed to be very ornate at first glance. She thought that the mirror was polished marble set into well crafted hickory frame. But the more she looked at it, the more she realized that the mirror was indeed very magical. The frame changed from moment to moment and the shade of the marble shifted with each passing second. It seemed that the mirror had total control over how it looked. With great care, Anna set it down onto the bed and removed her own mirror from where it rested on the wall behind her changing partition, then carefully set the enchanted mirror in its' place.

"Ok mirror. You didn't work before, so let's give this another go. Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" asked Anna, more out of a sense of giving it a trial run than real curiosity.

"I've already showed you once; do I really need to do it again?" asked the face in the mirror.

"You talk! I mean, you are magic so it shouldn't be a surprise, since the last magic thing I used could talk as well, but you didn't talk before!" cried Anna as she stumbled back against the partition. She'd previously been privy to a magical Crown that gave her magic and guided her actions. She didn't remember much of what it did while she wore it, though.

"I did not feel the need then. Repetition, however, tends to bring it out," said the mirror in an annoyed tone.

"Well, what else can you do that you didn't bring up earlier?" asked Anna.

"I can do many things. I know many things. Ask, child, and I shall tell you what you wish to learn."

"Well, I don't know, that's a big question. There's a lot I want to know about," said Anna.

"Shall I show you the sun?" asked the mirror and just like that it shifted from its' white face to that of a blazing, brilliant light.

Anna stumbled backward into the partition and knocked it over, blinded by the radiant glow.

"Or shall I show you the distant stars and their gaseous lagoons of light?" it asked as the image changed into that of a wash of blue and green set against a pure black night filled with a beautiful spectrum of stars that Anna had never seen before. "I can see many things. I know many things. There are very few limits on what is open to me. What is it that you, Anna, Princess of Arendelle, wish to know?"

"I want to know about," began Anna and then stopped, ashamed by her question.

"You wish to know about Kristoff and Elsa, yes?" completed the mirror for her. "So you ask, and so it is done."

The image changed, showing a scene of Kristoff speaking to Elsa. "I've felt things about you ever since I met you, Elsa. It's like you're my world come to life. Beautiful, dangerous, cold, and no matter what I do I just can't imagine life without you."

The image faded back into the cold, pale face after that. "Do you wish to see more, Princess Anna?' it asked.

Anna, near tears, said "No, I don't want to see any more. Mirror, show me something else."

The face in the mirror nodded and faded into an image of Lord Derek and Kristoff fighting in melee combat.

"Good block, but not fast enough!" cried Lord Derek as he batted Kristoff around like a rag doll in swordplay.

"Kristoff!" cried Anna in horror as Lord Derek bashed away at a helpless Kristoff.

"This has already come to pass, Princess, and your Kristoff yet lives," said the mirror as it cut to an image of Elsa tending his injuries afterward with much more care than Anna thought was necessary.

"I don't want to see any more of this sort of thing, mirror," said Anna as she averted her gaze.

"Then what do you wish to see, Princess? Flowing rivers? Gentle steams? Loved ones? Or knowledge, perhaps?" asked the mirror.

"What do you mean? What kind of knowledge?" asked Anna.

"I could show you how to regain Kristoff's love," said the mirror in the smug tone of someone who knew exactly what they were talking about.

"And just what do you mean by that?" asked Anna, not at all surprised.

"I can show you the magic you need to regain his love. There is a power inside you that is as great as the one that dwells in your sister. I can teach you how to let it out, how to channel it, how to use it. Trust in me, and I will make real your heart's desire."

"I know that I have magic. The Wendigo Ice Crown tried to teach me ice magic but it didn't seem to stick. What makes you think that you could do better than it did?" asked Anna. The Ice Crown boasted that it had awoken her innate magical talent, but after they'd gotten rid of it what little ice magic she thought she could do faded to nothing. She could still feel it right at her fingertips, but it was always just out of grasp.

The face in the mirror laughed, a deep and dark thing. "The Wendigo is a foolish brute, full of thunder and light with no grasp of how the world works. Your powers do not lie with ice and snow, Princess; your powers lay with myst and shadow and it is a mark of true power. Few can learn it, and fewer still can master it, but in you I sense great potential."

A flicker of shadow arched out from the wall behind the mirror and stroked Anna's cheek. It was a cold thing and at first Anna wanted to move away; it felt as though it was trying to reach into her mind for something, like the Ice Crown had before. In a few moments though, her mind flashed back to the way that Kristoff had acted towards her over the last few weeks and all thought of the Mirror was forgotten. It was now obvious to her that his affection had been waning and that she had been a fool not to have noticed it. "I bet they had a big laugh over that," muttered Anna to herself. "Alright, mirror. Let's start with the basics."


	11. Another Dinner

"Where's Anna? I haven't seen her all day," said Kristoff. He and Elsa had just sat down to a large state dinner with Lord Derek and the various important dignitaries that come with him. It seemed that while he was the official speaker for the group, the dissenting nobles in Weselton had managed to get their own agents onto the ship as well. Elsa had decided that if she was really going to make peace then she should the whole batch of them in front of her so they knew she was serious about it. One of them, a sour faced man dressed all in black, kept glaring at Elsa.

"I think that she's still in her room playing with that thing," said Elsa with a glance toward the side entrance.

"Maybe she's just trying to catch up on all the places she's never been to before she has to give it back. It's not like I was any more entertaining than that today, unless she wanted to see me get my ass kicked," said Kristoff as he rubbed a sore.

"She might have enjoyed that a lot, actually. She was pretty upset this morning. I wasn't angry with you and I still had fun watching you getting red all over," said Elsa as she reached for a glass of wine.

"Well of course you liked it. Why wouldn't you enjoy seeing me swinging my sword around all over the hall?" said Kristoff with a grin.

Elsa snorted into her wine. "Maybe she was better off in her room after all. No sense in getting her any more riled up."

"Riled up about what?" came Anna's voice from behind them. Kristoff and Elsa turned in their seats to see Anna dressed in a beautiful, sleek black dress that would shimmer with color each time she sashayed forward. It almost reminded Kristoff of the dress that Elsa had worn when he first met her, but this was grander, more awe inspiring.

"Anna! You look amazing," said Kristoff as he stood up to pull out her seat.

"Thank you, Kristoff," Anna said with a polite smile as she sank into seat.

"Anna, where did you get that? It's wonderful," said Elsa as she admired the dress. Anna just shrugged.

"I don't remember, to be honest. I've had it for some time," she began, but whatever else she was going to say was interrupted by a man dressed in black, who just marched up to Anna and started speaking.

"I can think of only way a dress like that might be acquired, your highness, and that is through witchcraft. It is as sure a sign of dark forces at work as any other," said the man in black as he all but pointed a finger at her and cried "Burn the witch!"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, this is a perfectly natural dress," Anna stammered as she blushed a deep crimson.

"I don't know who you think you are, getting off on accusing Anna of witchcraft, but if you think that shouting it in front of everyone here will make it come true then I have a fist that would like to meet your face!" snarled Kristoff as he leapt up to defend Anna.

"I care not if your own desperate affections for her have blinded you to what she is but mine have not and I know what she is. Anna of Arendelle, I name thee …"

"That's enough!" howled Lord Derek from across the room. He thundered up to the man and gripped him by the shoulder. "Captain Wells, you will refrain from accusing any member of the Arendelle royal family of witchcraft. I had thought that given the nature of our mission to Arendelle you would know better than that, but it would seem that a more personal explanation is in order. Your majesty, your highness, Kristoff, please excuse us for a moment." Lord Derek bowed and forced Captain Wells down with him, who winced at the pressure that Lord Derek had on him. Lord Derek then frog marched him out to the side hall.

"I wonder what he's going to tell him," asked Kristoff.

"I bet he's just going to give him a slap on the wrist," said Anna flippantly.

Then Lord Derek's voice came booming into the hall and everyone else fell silent. "You ignorant, pig faced worm of a man! What the hell do you think you're doing? Queen Elsa and Princess Anna have treated us with more respect than anyone from Weselton deserved after the former Duke made an ass of himself and by extension all of Weselton by his wretched, stupid antics! I am here on a mission of peace and with God as my witness you will not make a mockery of it as well! Witch hunting is what got everyone into this mess and it will do nothing but cause more trouble if you bring it up again! I don't care how much the King likes you, if you dare accuse Princess Anna, or Queen Elsa, or Kristoff, or Olaf or anyone else who lives here of witch craft again, I will shove my boot so far up your ass that it will knock out your teeth! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, CAPTAIN?" Captain Wells muttered something and Lord Derek spoke again. "Good. Do not make me say this again or it will not go well for you."

A few moments later and they saw Lord Derek and Captain Wells walk calming back into the room. Captain Wells was rubbing his shoulder and Lord Derek looked to be the angriest they had ever seen him. They both walked up to Anna and Captain Wells gave a curt bow.

"I am sorry I insulted you, your highness. I will ensure that it does not happen again," Captain Wells said before he walked briskly back to his seat.

Lord Derek then bowed as well. "I am sorry for his actions as well. I have known him to be a reasonable man, and I hope that he did not put a damper on our talks, your Majesty," he said as a moderate amount of fear entered his eyes.

"A single outburst from a lone dissenter should not speak for the whole. Besides, I heard your little talk with him and so I am sure that he does not speak for you, Lord Derek," said Elsa with a benign smile.

Lord Derek relaxed. "Thank you your majesty." He bowed again and then went back to his seat.

"You're just going to let him insult me like that and then walk away?" Asked Anna with righteous indignation.

"Anna, you heard what Lord Derek said to him as well as I did. I'm sure that whatever I might do to him will be nothing next to what Lord Derek would do. Besides, these are peace talks," said Elsa.

Anna rolled her eyes. "If he'd said it to you," she began, but Elsa interrupted her.

"I would have done the same thing, as I suspect that Captain Wells isn't someone Lord Derek chose to bring along of his own free will."

"Well, if you're just going to let them insult me like that, then there's no sense in my staying, is there?" said Anna as she got up to leave.

"Anna, wait!" cried Kristoff as he ran out into the hall to catch her.

Elsa sighed. It would be so nice when they finally explained everything to Anna and she wasn't so furious about everything.


	12. A Show of Force

**Kristoff**

"Anna, please just let me in," said Kristoff as he knocked at her door.

"No! You're just going to side with Elsa again, so just go away!" cried Anna from the other side of the door.

Kristoff had tried to catch her when she'd left the hall, but it seemed that the shadows in the castle leapt out to block her from sight at every turn.

"I'm not just siding with her Anna! I wanted to punch his face in as much as anyone, but Elsa said, and I agree, that Lord Derek should be the one to punish his people! That rat faced ignoramus is nothing more than speck, don't let him ruin tonight for you!" shouted Kristoff through the door.

"He called me a witch! I am allowed to be upset if those Weasel Town bastards start calling names! That's what they did last time they were here and Elsa got upset, so I can't I now?"

"It wasn't the right reaction then, either! When Elsa ran, she almost brought about endless winter! If you run, that only justifies that rat! Now, who do you want to come out on top this evening, Princess Anna of Arendelle or some little nobody from Weasel Town?" Kristoff waited, and thought he heard her lean up against the door and sigh.

"I want to be left alone, Kristoff. Please just … just go back to dinner," said Anna.

She sounded near tears, so Kristoff spoke softly to her through the crack in the door. "Anna, you're only going to her yourself if you shut yourself away. Please let me in." He heard the door creak and so Kristoff began to think that she might let him in so he could talk with her.

"I said leave!" shouted Anna and a thick black fog shot out through the bottom of her door and wrapped cold tendrils around him. Kristoff fell onto his ass and scooted away from the door in horror and surprise, then ran back to Elsa.

**Anna**

"I didn't even mean to shoot out the fog, it just sort of happened! Mirror, I thought I was supposed to be able control this!" Said Anna as she stared at her right hand in horror as if she expected it to leap off and scuttle around the room.

"That was control. You wanted him to leave, and so the shadows made him leave," said the mirror.

"Yeah, but you didn't teach me how to shoot out that sort of thing! How is it that I can leap from making clothes like Elsa's to that?" asked Anna as she turned to confront the mirror.

"I might have helped you a long in small ways, but much of that power and skill came from within you. Anna, I am not teaching you how to wield your power, only how to focus it. Given time, your own knowledge of your skills will surpass mine and it shall be I that learns from you. Until then, you will allow me to help you as needed."

Anna slowly shook her head in agreement. "Ok, but I'd rather you not do that sort of thing anymore. It's a little nerve wracking."

The pale face in the mirror nodded in acceptance. "I will try. For now, would you like for me to teach you about shadowviewing?"

"What's shadowviewing?" asked Anna as she calmed herself down.

"I will tell you. First, you must find a mirror of your own," said the mirror.

"Couldn't I just use you instead?" Asked Anna with a laugh.

"That would be cheating, and using me would teach you little. For now, I recommend that you use your old mirror."

Anna sighed and lifted the old mirror from where it lay and settled it up against the magic mirror on the wall. "Now what?"

"Now place the palm of your hand against it and let your power flow into through it into the reflection behind it, let the inky darkness surround it and you."

Anna closed her eyes and let it flow like the mirror said. She felt it's cold embrace unfurl around her as she let it go and only when she felt that she had been enveloped in the cold completely did she open her eyes.

She first saw dark shapes bending and swirling all over her, like they were flames and she was their core. Then she saw the mirror, now covered and filled with an inky blackness. She pulled her hand back and darkness from the mirror danced up to meet it. When she pressed if forward she knew it went beyond the normal barrier of the mirror's reflective surface.

"Now think of any place you can envision and the closer you are to it, the clearer it will be," said the mirror as it went on with its instructions.

Anna closed her eyes and thought of Kristoff as he sat down at the feast with Elsa and he came floating into vision in her mirror.

Kristoff was saying "She was acting crazy Elsa, I swear. I just don't understand her anymore." Anna blanked him from her mind, not caring to listen to Kristoff speak against her more.

Her mind flitted to Elsa and the image shifted to focus on her. "She'll understand, I'm sure. Don't worry about it," Elsa was saying. Her hand was on his thigh and she was smiling at him.

Anna wanted to break the mirror in half, but she knew that wouldn't stop them, so instead she just thought her shadows at them and watched them shiver as they touched down. Elsa took her hand away and tried to warm up by rubbing her arms like a normal person might, she just covered them with ice and relaxed herself. Anna tried to send her shadows again but found that she couldn't get past the ice.

Anna turned her attention on Kristoff and sent shadows at his groins with the thought that she'd at least cool those off, just in case. This caused Kristoff to get up from the table and march slowly out. Anna almost smiled until she saw Elsa start to get up as well. She returned to her seat after some obvious internal debating, but Anna knew what Elsa really wanted.

Anna howled in rage and ripped her hand away, wiping the image from the mirror.

"Isn't there anything I can see that won't remind me of them? Some random person I could just watch?" Anna asked the mirror.

The pale face shook its head. "You must have a connection to them, or know those with a connection and through them view that person." The mirror stopped to ponder for a moment, then spoke again. "Lord Derek is an interesting fellow. Perhaps you could watch him," suggested the mirror.

Anna shook her head. "I am sick to death of Lord Derek. He has brought nothing but trouble."

"Then we might be able to test another viewing, and view those he trusts through him," added the mirror.

"What good would that do?" Asked Anna. She wasn't against the idea but she wanted to hear what the mirror had to say on it.

"Knowing who your enemies trust can be a very potent thing," said the mirror. "Now think of him and focus on his love and who it goes to."

Anna placed her hand on the mirror again and focused. The image fell in on Lord Derek eating at the feast and then kept going, almost as if it was travelling through his mind to get to its target. It stopped at a little dark hair girl playing with a plant in her room.

"Who is that?" Asked Anna as she stared at the girl. Anna had seen the girl before, she knew that, but she wondered why the mirror would want her to focus on the little girl.

"That is Estelle. She is the apple of Lord Derek's eye and the fire in his heart. Let's practice some more distance magic, shall we?"


	13. A Magical Surprise

**Author's Note: Hey there! Sorry about the delay, it's been a busy few days for me.**

**Kristoff**

"Elsa! I have to speak with you, away from everyone else! It's important!" said Kristoff, huffing for breath as he did so.

"Kristoff, now isn't exactly the time," she said back him with a glance at the guests from Weselton. Captain Wells was glowering at her again but didn't seem inclined to get up again. Lord Derek, meanwhile, sounded as if he was trying to convince Kai to bring out bigger glasses for wine.

Krisoff sighed and sank into his seat. Leaning in so that only Elsa would hear, he said "Elsa, I think that Anna can do magic."

Elsa dropped her wine, although she froze it before it could make a real mess. A servant came over and scooped up the frozen wine and replaced her glass. Once out of earshot, she spoke in a hushed voice. "What? That's impossible. Anna doesn't have magic, I would know, she would have said something."

"That's what I thought, but when I was talking to her earlier I think that she threw a blast of smoke at the door to drive me off."

"Maybe she's been spending too much time with the alchemists," Elsa said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Anna had imported several alchemists from the Germanies a couple weeks before with the surface excuse that they might be able to 'tap into Elsa's power.' So far the only thing that they did was make fireworks and other fun explosives, but Anna insisted that they were 'making something amazing.'

Kristoff shook his head. "Not even they would be foolish enough to give Anna explosives. Besides, this didn't feel like their work. This felt alive."

Elsa was ecstatic, but continued to speak in hushed tones. "Do you think it might have been that mirror?"

Kristoff nodded and then frowned. "I can't think of what else it could be, but that's just it. I think that it's doing something to her. Tonight she was acting crazy Elsa, I swear. I just don't understand her anymore. She's even closed and locked her door."

Elsa leaned in and patted him on his thigh to comfort him. "Just go talk to her. If she really has gained magical abilities, then ask her about them. She'll understand I'm sure. Don't worry about it."

Just then, black forms appeared and danced against Elsa's skin, causing her to shiver. She flexed and once a thin sheet of ice went up her arm to block them, the forms vanished.

Kristoff looked down and saw that similar forms had begun to creep towards his groin. "I'm going to go see Anna. I think that it's time we had an honest talk," he said under his breath in a tone so quiet that Elsa could only just heard him. Then he got up and marched out.

**Elsa**

Elsa thought about joining him in talking to Anna, but knew that the disappearance of the whole royal family, so to speak, would do more harm than good, so she stayed and smiled as more Weselton representatives came up to her to say hello and offer their own apologies, no matter how insincere those apologies might sound.

She glanced over at Lord Derek to see what he was up to. Although she'd only known him a few days, Elsa had the impression that Lord Derek could be counted on to cause a distraction or create some other kind of entertainment that would take the attention off of her.

"What the devil?" Cried Lord Derek just as soon as the thought passed through her mind. She saw dark forms slide across his forehead and sink in.

"Is everything alright, Lord Derek," asked an older noble sitting near him.

"I'm fine, I just have a headache, that's all," he said as the dark forms burrowed deeper into his skull.

The noble shrugged and joined a conversation next to him. It seemed that she was the only one who could see the things crawling across Lord Derek's face, so Elsa got up to see if she could help him.

"Lord Derek," she said as she moved toward him, but he held up a hand.

"Your Majesty, I am fine," he said to her. He then closed his eyes, gripped the table, and concentrated. Within moments, the dark forms were expelled and then quickly faded away. "I look forward to the return of my property tomorrow, however," he said with a glance upstairs.

Elsa gulped. He knew.

**Anna**

Something was wrong, Anna knew that within moments of seeing Estelle. The other images had been fuzzy around the edges, true, but the instant that Estelle came into focus, black cracks began to schism through her, partly blocking her from sight.

Anna concentrated on her and tried to bring her back into focus, but it didn't help.

"What the devil?" Came Lord Derek's voice out of the mirror.

"What was that?" Asked Anna of the magic mirror on the wall.

"Lord Derek's thoughts are breaking through. Ignore them and focus on Estelle. Sense her, learn where she is."

Anna nodded and redoubled her attention. The image cleared up again and details began to leak through. Thoughts of Weselton and its capitol came to her, and she began to place together where this Estelle might live.

"Could I do this to anyone?" Asked Anna, but the image then began to crack again as Lord Derek's voice came back.

"I do not know who or what you are, but know this. The last person who scoured my mind wound up dead at the tip of my sword and she was searching for far less intimate information. Stop now, or suffer."

It boomed through the room, and Anna almost fell back in shock and horror. "He knows?" Asked Anna of the magic mirror.

"Silence you fool, or do you wish him to hear you as well?" It shouted at her, and so Anna thought harder at him in an attempt to gather more details. She didn't want to do this anymore, but to stop would be to admit defeat and there was a part of her that was urging her onwards, to quash this insolent interloper and show him who was in charge.

The image broke into pieces as Lord Derek spoke again, this time not to her. "Your Majesty, I am fine." Was her sister still down there? Lord Derek interrupted her thoughts. "Yes, _your Highness, _she is. This magic goes both ways, and I hope that you explore this avenue no more."

With that, the image exploded and the power that Anna had been pouring into the mirror she had been using threw Anna into the wall behind her as it snapped back at her, filling her room with darkness as it did so.

"What was that?" Asked Anna, still dazed from the throw. She watched the darkness ooze out of the room and hoped that no one could see it.

"That was what happens to shadow magic when it is not properly attended to. Have you discovered Estelle's location?"

A mass of angry, protective thoughts surged into her mind. She wasn't sure what to say. Part of her wanted to say 'No, let's not look anymore,' but the small, angry thing from before said 'I know enough, let's go hunting.'

"I'm not sure. Maybe later, mirror," was what came out.

The face in the mirror scowled, but bowed his head. "Of course. Just remember that I do not have much longer with you, since your sister did promise my return, so make well your time with me."

Anna bit her lip. "What else is there to learn that's not spying?"

"Much. Would you like to learn to defy gravity?"


	14. The Flight

**Elsa**

"Anna, it's time to give it up," said Elsa as she thumped on Anna's door. Anna hadn't come out since she'd left dinner the night before and Elsa was growing nervous. Elsa knew that Anna was a bit of a night owl and tended to sleep late, but it was well past ten thirty now and it was time that Anna accepted what was happening.

"You said noon!" cried Anna past the door, and a puff of black fog crept out from under the door. Elsa sigh and sent a rush of cold air to blow it away. It had been exciting the first time but now it was just frustrating.

"I said that he could have it back my noon, not that you could use it until then! Anna, set it down and come out and join Kristoff and I for breakfast. You've already been playing with that mirror for longer than you should have. Honestly, this is worse than the crown."

"The crown which you snatched away from me! This might be the only chance I'll have to play with magic without having to turn to you, so you'll understand if I want some time alone with it!" said Anna angrily.

Elsa stepped back, hurt by what Anna had said. Images of their childhood flashed through her head and she never once remembered Anna bearing this kind of jealousy towards her powers. "Fine. I'll go have breakfast with Kristoff. Just him and me, alone." She didn't know why she said that last part. It just popped out, but nevertheless she turned around and left without another word.

She heard Anna scream and the hall became pitch black, but Elsa kept walking. If Anna wanted to have an temper tantrum, that was her prerogative. The fact that her magic was as powerful as it was after she'd only had it for a few days was a worry that she did her best to quash.

**Later**

"So you just left her alone?" shouted Kristoff as they ate breakfast.

"What else was I supposed to do? Break into her room and take it by force?" asked Elsa as she piled bacon and eggs onto her plate.

"Yes!" exclaimed Kristoff, throwing his hands into the air as he did so. "That thing is a bad influence on her; I don't care how magical it makes her! In fact, that is exactly the reason that you should have just taken it from her! Ever since she's started playing with that damn thing she's been acting strange! It's like she's a different person now."

"She's just learning about her powers, that's all," said Elsa quickly. She'd spent thirteen years apart from her sister and didn't want to consider the idea that Anna could shift so into something alien to her nature in only a couple of days.

"Well, I'd say that if she keeps this up, then pretty soon her powers are going to change her into someone else."

Anna

"Anna, I told you already, it's time to come out and give it up. Lord Derek knows, I'm sure, so denying it won't do anything." Elsa's voice rang through the doorway like church bells and Anna was in hysterics.

"Mirror, I'm still haven't gotten a grip on mysting but I can't keep you any longer or Elsa will break down the door, I'm sure of it!" Anna said in a panic.

"You could just myst out with me and spend more time learning. That way the next time Elsa came up against you, it would be an easy matter to put her down," said the mirror in the same monotone it had used to speak to her with the whole time it had been with her.

"I don't want to put her down, I just want her to take me seriously!" Said Anna indignantly, even though a part of her indeed wanted to prove once and for all that she was better than Elsa.

"Well giving me up won't do that, your highness," the mirror said serenely.

"I know!" shouted Anna. She then concentrated and tried to myst across the room. According to the mirror, mysting would allow her to travel from place to place in an instant, but it seemed that all it let her do now was turn into a pillar of smoke and get her a headache.

"Anna, are you talking to someone in there?" asked Elsa through the door.

"No! I mean, um, no. It's just me and the mirror in here, that's all," said Anna, closing her eyes as she did so. She'd always been a terrible liar and she was sure that Elsa would pick up on it.

This time, though, Elsa either missed it or ignored it. "Alright, if you say so. I want you to know that Lord Derek is here now, and is waiting for the mirror. He knows you have it, Anna, and if you don't give it up I think that he'll just barge up and take it."

"What about his treasured peace?" Asked Anna through the door.

"I think that this is more important to him than that," said Elsa in a worried tone.

Just then Anna heard Lord Derek's voice in the hall. It was muffled so she didn't know what he was saying, but he didn't sound happy. "Mirror, what do I do?" she asked.

"Do you trust me?" it asked her, and she nodded as she heard an argument spring up in the hall. "Place your hand upon me, Anna," commanded the mirror and Anna did as she was told. "Concentrate on the North Mountain."

**Elsa**

"Lord Derek, those are Anna's private chambers! I forbid you from entering them!" Cried Elsa.

Lord Derek ignored her and pounded at the doors. "Your Highness! I told you once and I'll tell you again! Give it up!"

"You asked for it back and I said I would get it to you! That does not excuse your storming into our personal chambers!" said Elsa. She didn't want to freeze him, as freezing people in place was something she was still working on, but she wanted to do so now more than ever.

Lord Derek turned and glared at her. "Your Majesty, last night Princess Anna invade my mind using a magic that has only been used by the Witch Queen before her. I cannot believe that it is a coincidence any longer, considering the nature of the powers she used last night. Though I am loath admit it, Captain Wells might be right about the Anna's new nature. Jenkins, help me with this door."

Elsa was too stunned to stop him. Anna had invaded his mind? That might explain his headache, but it didn't explain her behavior, but by the time Elsa had moved to stop him from doing anything else, Lord Derek and Jenkins had already broken the lock and had raced into Anna's room.

"Princess Anna, the mirror, now!" shouted Lord Derek in anger.

Anna, meanwhile, had placed her hand upon the mirror in shock. Within moments a dark cloud surrounded her and she and the mirror vanished in a stream of smoke out the window.

"Damn!" shouted Lord Derek upon her disappearance. "Damn Damn and double Damn!"

"Are you happy now, Lord Derek?" asked Elsa as waves of cold emanated from her. "Anna has run away and I don't know what to do to bring her back."

Lord Derek looked up at her with a passionate fury she had never seen in anyone before. "No, your Majesty, I am not happy. Witnessing the birth of a witch should never be a happy occasion."


	15. Journey to the North Mountain

"Hell and damnation, woman, what sort of game are you playing?" Asked Lord Derek as he clutched his shoulder.

Elsa had sent a blast of arctic cold at him when he accused her sister of being a witch. She'd meant to fire it as a warning shot at the wall behind him, but he'd moved and so she hit him instead.

"That is what happens to people who accuse my sister of being a witch. She can be frustrating at times, but I will not miss again if you say that."

The man called Jenkins stepped forward. "Your Majesty, if I may," he said politely before turning to Lord Derek. "Milord, I am sorry," he said before giving Lord Derek a sucker punch to the jaw that knocked him to the floor. "But you did ask."

"Bloody hell, I didn't tell you to give me a thumping; I told you to keep the witch hunters away," Lord Derek said, switching to massaging his jaw. He chomped it down a couple times before getting to his feet.

"No sir, but the lads and I assumed that's what you really meant," said Jenkins, ever prim and proper as he did so.

"I'll keep that in mind next time. Don't want to get jumped by the crew," said Lord Derek.

Jenkins looked back and seemed to notice that Kristoff had been readying his own punch. Kristoff looked a little bewildered, but was still plenty mad. "Please, feel free," he said, stepping out of the way.

"Feel free to what?" asked Lord Derek just as Kristoff barreled into him.

"No one talks about Anna that way, got that?" shouted Kristoff as he beat the stuffing out of Lord Derek.

"I've got it, I've got it!" Howled Lord Derek as he tried to wrestle out from under Kristoff. He landed a few blows of his own on the mountain man as he worked his way out, but Kristoff had grown up wrestling trolls so he ignored them.

"Kristoff, let him up," said Elsa.

Kristoff got off of him and Lord Derek once again staggered to his feet. His face was black and blue and his shoulder had started to turn colors as well.

Elsa took a deep breath and then sent a wave of ice at Lord Derek's feet, encasing him from the knees down to the floor. "Lord Derek. Anna is not a witch, or devil spawn, or any other thing like that. She is Anna. Nothing more, nothing less. Do I make myself clear?" she said with crossed arms.

Lord Derek nodded quickly. "Of course, your Majesty. I misspoke in a moment of anger. I will not do so again. I promise."

"Good," she said, then turned and walked out.

Kristoff followed after and kept pace. "Are you really going to just leave him there?" He asked.

"Just long enough to let him know I'm serious," Elsa said with a laugh. This had been the first time since the North Mountain that she'd knowingly used her powers on the offensive and it felt good.

"Won't his people wonder what happened to him?" Asked Kristoff.

"They'll figure it out on their own soon enough," said Elsa as she went towards the courtyard. She pointedly ignored the delegation from Weselton.

Kristoff, though, saw that the delegation hadn't paid that much attention to her as she went by either, talking in whispers among themselves. "Elsa, I think that they might have seen Anna leave," said Kristoff in a low whisper.

"What are you talking about? She was on the other side of the palace when she left!" Said Elsa in frantic tones.

"A big plume of black smoke jetting away from the palace is the kind of thing people see, and Lord Derek did keep saying how Weseltoners try to see the details," said Kristoff.

"Oh damn," said Elsa. She waved her hands and Kristoff soon saw the power that she sent at Lord Derek return to her. "No sense in giving them more ammunition then," she said to Kristoff.

"Where do you think she went? I don't feel comfortable just going up to the Weseltoners and asking them where they saw it go," said Kristoff with a glance around. "And it's not exactly something we can just go around town asking about."

"Lord Derek would like to volunteer his services in finding her," said a voice from behind them. Kristoff and Elsa turned around to see that Jenkins had followed them down. "His Lordship sent me after you once it became clear that he was going anywhere."

"And why would we want his help?" asked Elsa, ice growing from her fingers as she spoke.

"Because he is one of the most qualified people here to search for her. As distasteful as it may be, he does have experience finding those of a mystic bent who are trying hide from the world, and that does seem to be a bill that fits your fair sister." Jenkins then bowed to both her and Kristoff.

"Anna is not a witch!" Said Elsa under her breath, loud enough that Kristoff and the man Jenkins could hear, but not so loud that rest of the Weseltoners could.

Jenkins bowed again. "I never said that she was. She seems to be just a confused young woman coming to terms with supernatural abilities that she does not fully understand yet, a field that Lord Derek is familiar with as well."

Elsa bit her lip. A few weeks ago that could have been her, and she managed to freeze the whole country before she figured her gift out. "Alright, but that doesn't tell me why we should take a witch hunter like Lord Derek with us? Anna and Kristoff found me with little enough trouble."

Jenkins ignored the insult to his lord and carried on. "Because Anna is not on her own, and her aid does not have her best interests at heart. It might be a bit much for just the pair of you and since only Lord Derek and a few others here have countered it before it could be good for him to come with you."

"What others?" Asked Kristoff. The trolls that had raised him had taught him only a few techniques on how to counter magic and nothing on how to outright stop it.

"Both Captain Wells and myself, alongside Lord Derek, were among those who went up against the Witch Queen of the North in the final charge," Jenkins said.

"So you're saying you could kill my sister if it came down to it?" asked Elsa with a scowl.

"No your Majesty. I am saying that we could find her without her discovering us before we arrive," Jenkins said. "While I am sure that your sister has the best of intentions, the mirror that she took with her will do its best to pervert those into a darker reality. I have heard of your snow guard, your Majesty, and I assure you that you would not do better against whatever guards she conjures up."

"And you think he knows how to handle what she _might _throw at us?" asked Kristoff. He remembered Marshmallow and didn't want a reprise.

"I am sure of it. Besides, if you didn't allow him to come with you, he'd just follow behind and go his own way. At least if he comes then you can keep track of him at keep him from unnecessary foolishness." Jenkins shuddered at that.

"Such as scaling a mountain without rope?" asked Kristoff as he remembered Anna doing several things along those lines as well.

"Or worse," replied Jenkins.

Kristoff turned to Elsa. "Your call, Elsa, but I think …"

"Yes, I can see that," Elsa said, interrupting him. "Fine, but I call the shots, alright?"

"That's perfectly reasonable," said Jenkins with a bow.


	16. Monster in the Shadows

By the time they'd gathered everything they needed, the day had slipped into night. In the mean time, Elsa had decided that it would be prudent to make as few ripples as possible when they left, so she decided to ride in Kristoff's sled with Sven in the lead so there wasn't anyone they'd need to speak to that wasn't already in the know. In addition to that, she'd created a minor travelling snowstorm that existed only around the sled. This allowed Kristoff, Lord Derek and she to travel and leave almost no trail, as Elsa made sure that there was no snow covering the ground that they'd already passed over.

To further ensure their safety, she'd also created a pair of massive snow golems that took the form of wolves to track alongside them. Every so often they would hear howling and one of the snow wolves would go off. Shortly after, they would hear yips and then it would come back in silence. Elsa had commanded them to not kill the living wolves, but it was still a little disconcerting.

"I must say, this certainly is one of the smoothest, safest rides I've ever taken," said Lord Derek loudly from the cargo hold of Kristoff's sled after one of the snow wolves returned.

"We're good at what we do," said Kristoff from the front seat. Sven snorted and tossed his head, happy with the complement.

Elsa, meanwhile, was content to just lean against Kristoff as they rode on. She'd set the storm up to be self regulating so she didn't need to concentrate on lifting the snow as they passed over it so she didn't need to focus on controlling it. She wasn't worried about what Lord Derek may think because it seemed that he was doing his very best to miss Kristoff's and her interactions.

"This does feel nice," she said as she nuzzled into his side.

Kristoff lifted a hand from the reins and pulled her close.

"One of these days I'm going take you on a ride when it isn't life or death. High time you see some of your own country, I think," said Kristoff as he gave her a squeeze.

"I'd like that," said Elsa with a smile. If not for the fact that they were hounding after Anna to stop her from hurting herself this would have been a lovely ride.

Lord Kristoff gave out a loud, hacking cough which broke them out of their thoughts. "Call me crazy, but I think there's something out there!"

"The snow wolves'll get 'em. Hyah!" said Kristoff as he cracking the reins to make Sven go faster.

One of the snow wolves indeed went over to investigate, but Elsa wasn't sure this time. It didn't sound like the wolves or bears from before did and it put her on edge. She looked over to Kristoff and realized that, though he would never have admitted it, he too was on edge. Lord Derek just kept a beady eyed watch. Sven just did his best to go as fast as he could.

A blood curdling howl filled the air and Elsa suddenly knew that the snow wolf she'd sent out had been destroyed. "Kristoff, go faster, please go faster," she said as she clutched the sled.

"We're going as fast as we can," cried Kristoff as he tried to get Sven to go faster still.

"That might not be good enough. Damn, where did I put that thing?" said Lord Derek from the back.

The howl came again, much closer than it had been before. The other snow wolf turned around and charged into something behind them as the sky grew darker. Elsa looked behind them to see what was attacking them and saw a wave of unnatural darkness filled with gaping maws and hungry mouths. The snow wolf slammed against it and the darkness wrapped around it, fighting it and ultimately unmaking it.

"Found it!" cried Lord Derek as he held up what looked like a bottle of wine with a rag in it. "Now to light the damn thing. Where the hell are my matches?"

Elsa concentrated and raised several more snow golems with the express purpose of slowing down the darkness. They too slammed into it, slowing it for mere moments before it ripped them apart. Elsa sank into her seat, weakened. Each time it unmade one of her golems she felt weaker, and she knew that she couldn't sustain this kind of offensive power much longer.

"Bugger and blast, where the devil ... there they are! Kristoff, your Majesty, you might want to face forward for this," said Lord Derek as the darkness came ever closer.

Elsa watched him light the rag and then turned around and concentrated on creating a bridge over the ravine ahead. As they crossed, Elsa felt the darkness skittering along behind them, avoiding the edge as best it could while staying as close to them as possible.

Lord Derek, meanwhile, waited until they were most of the way across before lighting the rag. "Go back to the hell from which you came, fowl beast!" He cried and threw the bottle. Elsa watched for a moment as the darkness consumed it, then turned when she saw Lord Derek turn away.

As soon as she averted her eyes, a brilliant white flash filled the air and the unnatural darkness had vanished.

Once he was sure they were on solid ground again, Kristoff stopped and looked behind them. Both the bridge and the darkness were gone. "What the hell was that?" He asked as his eyes adjusted to the low light of evening once again.

"The thing or what I threw?" Asked Lord Derek, obviously still blind from the charge.

"Both," replied Kristoff.

Lord Derek shrugged. "I threw what we down in Weselton call a sunburst. It creates an imitation of the light of day for a brief moment. Good for shadow creatures and vampires. As for the thing itself, I'd say that it was a shadow hound. It's a being created by shadow mages to track and or retrieve people or things."

Elsa noticed that he'd hesitated before saying mages, but didn't press the issue. "Who sent it?" She asked even though the answer was already clear in her mind.

"I think it might have been your sister, Anna. I don't think that she meant to hurt us really, but I think that her teacher might not be telling her everything about what she's learning," said Lord Derek in reply, shuddering as he did so.

"Her teacher? I don't know what you mean?" Asked Elsa.

"There are a few things I haven't told you about the mirror that she stole. This is very secret information, mind you, but at this point I don't see how keeping it secret from either of you will help anyone."

"Alright then, out with it," said Kristoff as he slowed Sven down to a trot.

"Well, to start with, the mirror isn't just an antique," said Lord Derek

"What a surprise," murmured Kristoff under his breath.

Lord Derek ignored him. "It's an artifact, a magical tool that can only be used by those strong of will and pure of heart. Your heart can be pure hate, love, evil, good or anything in between, but it must be pure. If not, it can tempt you into accepting gifts of power and teaching that will lead you down a dark path."

"Pun intended?" Asked Elsa with a smirk.

"Pun? Oh, ha ha. No, I mean that it will teach you whatever it thinks will draw you most into evil. It is most skilled with shadow magic, but my research shows that it is skilled with other types of magic as well. I think that Princess Anna was drawn to it in a moment of weakness and that is has exploited her ever since then. That is why it is vitally important that we separate her from it before it is too late."

"Too late for what?" Asked Elsa.

"Too late for everyone," replied Lord Derek.

"What does that mean, then, too late for everyone?" asked Kristoff indignantly.

Lord Derek sighed. "The last Witch Queen started with almost no magical talent at all and wound up so powerful that it took a decade of war to put her down. Now, realize that since Elsa was born with innate cold magic, Anna has a much greater potential for magic. With that in mind, imagine what she could do with the mirror's teachings."

"Oh fuck," said Kristoff, eyes wide.

"Indeed," replied Lord Derek.


	17. Life Alone

"What are we doing here, mirror?" asked Anna, gasping for breath as she trekked across the frozen fields of the North Mountain. While Elsa's magic had been lifted, the North Mountain was high enough that it had a layer of snow all year regardless of her and Anna had not come prepared for the cold. The additional exhaustion of mysting was an unexpected and unwanted additional complication.

"There is much I have left to teach you, your Highness, and the North Mountain is sufficiently isolated that any unwanted visitors can be dealt with accordingly," said the mirror.

"It also isn't anywhere near food or shelter," said Anna with a shiver.

"Beg pardon, your Highness, but yonder ice palace should provide sufficient shelter enough for now," said the mirror with a glance up the mountain.

Anna turned around to see what he was talking about at and realized that she had totally missed Elsa's ice palace. When Elsa had recalled her magic for the first time, she'd left a few things that she'd created alone. Anna had known about Olaf, of course, and once he'd wandered down from the mountains she found out about Marshmallow, but Anna hadn't known that she'd kept the Winter Palace as well.

"Not an option. I don't want anything to do with Elsa or anything she made from before," said Anna as she started to turn away from it.

Or rather, that's what she tried to say. What came out instead was "Nn … no … option … anything …" It seemed that she was colder and more exhausted than she'd realized.

"Yes, your Highness. If you like I could show you how to summon a servitor to aid you," said the mirror.

"Servitor?" Asked Anna, but she already knew what it meant. It meant something like Olaf, or Marshmallow. She concentrated, drawing on the last of her strength and focused on the simple idea of something that might help her.

"No, your highness! You aren't strong enough to do it alone," said the mirror in protest.

Anna ignored it and sent out a wisp of magic and shadow to give her aid before she collapsed. She'd seen Elsa do this any number of times now, and Anna was sure that if Elsa could do it, she could do it too.

It didn't take much and soon Anna saw the shadow take shape. It was vague and formless for the most part, but when it was still it would flicker into a male form that was somehow familiar.

Then she fell to the ground, finally worn out from her efforts.

**The Servitor**

_Love her. Protect her. Shelter her. Sustain her._ This all passed through what might pass for the Servitor's mind as it went to pick up its mistress and take it to the protection of the Winter Palace. It did not know why it knew this, only that it would save her from the cold snow around her.

**_Foolish girl, what were you thinking? Why would you think that you could create a Servitor without me,_** The Servitors heard the Mirror wonder. It turned and glared at it, such as it could.

The face in the mirror said nothing, content instead to speak directly into the core of the Servitor's being. **_That you have enough of a mind to be offended by me would be laughable if it wasn't cause for concern. If she truly wished for protection I could have used her power to conjure up an army that could quest out whatever she desired. As it stands now I think that there is nothing that can be done except for you to wait for her to die. This place was not meant as a home for the living and I did not intend for her to try and fend for herself without me._**

The Servitor scowled at the Mirror. It did not like this intruder into its mistress's life, no matter how responsible it was for its own creation. The Servitor went over to its mistress, gently lifted her into its arms, wrapped itself around her and let her sink into the warm core of its being, taking care that no more of her was exposed than was needed.

Laughable.

Nothing that could be done.

_Bah._

The Servitor looked around; trying to see what could be done. There were trees whose branches could be formed into a kind of bed, to keep its mistress away from the cold, but that would not be enough for long. Something more had to be added. It looked harder, and off in the distance it spied a fluttering purple cloth.

Making sure that its mistress was secure, it bounded off towards the cloth.

**_She'll still die, you know. She'll die and there'll be nothing but war ever after _**said the Mirror as it left, but soon it was out of range and it was just the wind, the sky and the mistress.

It didn't take long to reach the cloth. Much to the Servitor's relief, it was a thick wool thing meant to keep a person warm. Memories that weren't its own flashed through the Shadow's mind, memories of a coronation and party that went wrong somehow, then went right again in the end.

Elsa.

The name floated to the top of the Shadow's mind and it dismissed it. If this cloak was Elsa's, whoever she was, then she would still have it. If nothing else, the Shadow's mistress needed it more than this Elsa did, and it was sure this Elsa would understand a theft of necessity.

The Shadow pulled its mistress out from the depths of its being and wrapped the cloth around her, taking great care that she was bundled up nicely.

Its mistress gave a contented sigh and stopped shivering. At least, she stopped shivering as much. There was still much to done for her, though, so the Shadow slipped her back into its core and went to hunt for food.

**Anna**

Anna awoke in Elsa' Winter Palace and found herself lying on a bed of pine branches, covered with a thick, purple wool cloth. In front of her was a fire with a skinned rabbit on a spit. The shadow creature she'd called up was sitting close by, constantly turning the rabbit to keep it from burning while watching her all the while. It was in its man form again and the mirror was nowhere to be found.

"I wonder how long I was asleep for," pondered Anna as she looked around the Winter Palace. She'd only had the chance to look at it for a moment the first time she visited, but now that she was inside it the whole thing seemed to be a larger, grander version of their castle down in Arendelle.

"Three hours, thirty five minutes and fifteen seconds," came a muffled voice from beneath the pine branched. "In that time, I have acted as the base of your bedding for two hours, fifteen minutes and forty six seconds. I would like to be relieved of this duty, if your guardian allows it."

Anna laughed and pulled out the mirror and plopped it down on the other side of the fire. "I didn't mean to fall asleep like that," she said after the pile of branches had been reshuffled by the shadow creature, turning the rabbit all the while.

"I should not have pushed you the way I did. It was an almost fatal mistake on both our counts. If not for your servitor, you would have died in the snow. I would have acted had I been able, but my powers are constrained to flow only through those touching my surface."

Anna began to get up to reset the mirror so that she could see it, but then the servitor took the rabbit off the fire and handed it to her. It also mimed that it would be a good idea for her to rest more before attempting another go at the mirror.

"Thank you, then. Both of you," she said with a smile to the shadow creature. It bobbed its head in appreciation and seemed to scowl at the mirror.

"Think nothing of it. Now, once you have finished regaining your strength, we shall work on how to create a more effective protection servitor."

Anna nodded and took a few more bites from the rabbit, then handed it to the servitor. "I'm fine for now, I can finish this later. What do I need to do?"

The face in the mirror nodded in approval. "Place your hand upon me so that I might aid your conjuration. You are strong, but what I have in mind might incapacitate you again without my help."

Anna put her hand upon the mirror and felt its power churn beneath the surface, just waiting to be tapped into.

"Before I just poured a piece of myself out and hoped it could help. What's so different about this?" Asked Anna. The sensation of being of two minds about her magic returned. One part of her wanted to retreat and explore what she could do with the shadow creature, but a hungrier part of her wanted the mirror to show her the proper way to protect herself.

"This time, you will ask it to guard you, and defend you. It will need to be powerful and ruthless. Think of that, and it will come," said the mirror.

It spoke to her more like a schoolteacher guiding a particularly slow student instead of a magic mirror showing her tricks now, so Anna nodded and thought of what it told her, pouring all of her defensive thoughts into it. A part of her frustration came out as well as some of her anger at what Elsa and Kristoff were up to, but she was sure that wouldn't hurt anything. She thought she could feel something else slid into the well of shadow and magic she was pouring out in front of her, but she ignored it. Another stray thought, she supposed.

When she stopped, the thing in front of her reared up and took on a blobby, hungry shape. Gaping mouths opened and shut all over its body and it didn't seem to have any more form than a pillar of smoke might have.

Anna would have shrunk back in fear if she wasn't secure in the knowledge that this thing would obey her.

Probably.

"I want you to go out and make sure that I'm safe, ok?" She asked it and it almost instantly soared out of the room, each mouth slavering in anticipation of stopping whatever wasn't safe.

"Now," began the mirror.

Anna interrupted it. "Now I'm going to finish my meal. I'm protected enough and that took a bit out of me. Lessons can wait."

The mirror nodded and the first servitor she'd created handed her back the rabbit.

She had only just finished it when she felt a surge of pain and weakness. Something had destroyed the shadow guard and she suspected that she knew who. Kristoff and Elsa were on their way.


	18. Musings on the Past

Evening was approaching and so Kristoff had decided it was time to stop for the night since there was "No sense in pushing past our limits when we could just go at a relaxed pace in the morning."

Elsa conjured up three more snow sentinels that could have been Marshmallow's brothers to guard them and then sat back to rest. The destruction of her other sentinels had taken something out of her. Not a lot, but enough that she wasn't looking forward to another encounter with one of Anna's shadows no matter how benevolent she meant it to be.

"I suppose that takes care of the night watch, then," said Lord Derek as he watched the three sentinels vanish into the night. A few howls and roars indicated that they were setting about their task with gusto. Lord Derek got up and fetched a couple bags from the back of the sled, then turned and said "I'm going to set up camp for myself over yonder" with a gesturing to a cluster of trees almost out of sight. "I'll see you both at breakfast in the morning. Do try to keep quiet, please. The hills have ears and it would be a shame if someone heard something they shouldn't." Then he turned and marched away, whistling to himself as he walked. He paused a moment and turned back around for a moment.

Kristoff got up and unhooked Sven, set his gear back into the sled and then gave him a rubdown before sharing a carrot with him. He was focused on Sven to the exclusion of all others, making sure that his companion was as comfortable as possible before speaking with Elsa.

"You care about Sven a lot," Elsa said as she watched him go about his task.

Kristoff nodded, his focus still on tending to Sven. "We've been together since we were small. I found him wandering around on his own just after my birth parents died. We cared for each other as best we could, but until Momma Bulda took us in it was pretty much us against the world."

"That must have been hard for you," Elsa said as she relaxed in her seat on the sled.

Kristoff shrugged. "We managed. It got easier once the trolls took us in, although it was a little interesting for the first few years. Big learning curve for everyone."

Elsa laughed. "Such as?"

Kristoff smiled at the memories of his first few weeks with the trolls. "Teaching them what kinds of food we each could eat took a while. They figured out pretty quickly that we couldn't eat what they ate, but Grand Pabbie had to sit for a while before he could think of what kinds of berries and plants and such we could eat without killing ourselves."

"And what kinds of food do they eat?" Asked Elsa. While she'd read about trolls, she'd never met one and none of the stories conveyed much more information about them than _approach them with caution and respect._

"Different kinds of minerals. I've been told that each one has its own distinct flavor, but I've never managed to pick anything up form them. I mean, salt's decent but other than that they all taste about the same to me." Kristoff gave Sven a slap on the rump and Sven bounded off into the woods to find something to eat, sure in his safety because of the snow sentinels.

Elsa pulled her knees up to her chest. "What would you say is the biggest difference between trolls and people? Besides food, I mean."

Kristoff bite his lip and sank into the seat on the sled beside her. "I don't know. Most trolls have magic, so there's that. But then again, both you and Anna have potent talents yourselves so maybe I've just met a poor showing of people. No, I think that the biggest difference between trolls and people are their relationships."

"Their relationships?" Elsa knew that Kristoff had different views on what was and wasn't appropriate. It had taken Anna and her a few days before Sven learned that the palace wasn't really meant for reindeer and he and Kristoff had pined for several days after before Elsa gave in and adapted some parts of the castle to be reindeer friendly.

"Yeah. Oh, I, uh, I mean their romantic relationships," said Kristoff with a blush.

"How so?" Asked Elsa. She felt drawn to Kristoff and while her Christian upbringing said that he should be Anna's and Anna's alone, something inside him seemed to assure her that what they felt was also alright.

Kristoff didn't speak for a some time and when he did it was slow and methodical. He'd thought this out. "Most human people have one partner in their life and that's it. Oh sure, they might have family and children they love as well, but when it comes to your forever love, it's just the one"

"And trolls don't have loved ones?" Asked Elsa.

Kristoff chuckled. "Oh sure they do, just not the same way you might. Trolls have lovers and partners for anything and everything. You may have a lover that fulfills a part of who you are, but a couple others to fulfill the rest of yourself. Nothing makes a thing stronger than complementary aspects and since one husband or wife won't always complete you, why not have two or three or four? I think that at one point I had five fathers and three mothers, but that was only for a couple years. Most trolls only had three wives or husbands although they'll often be in multiple families, so trying to map out your entire 'extended family' can get interesting."

"So, say, if a man wanted to marry two sisters, he could?" Asked Elsa.

"Oh sure. Happened all the time at home," said Kristoff, lost in memory. It took him a moment longer to realize what Elsa was suggesting. "Do you think …" He began, and Elsa sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe. It sure would solve our little problem, but I' m not sure what Anna would think. A few days ago I might have known, but now, what with her big change, I just …" Elsa trailed off.

"Yeah," said Kristoff, pulling Elsa closer to him.

Elsa snuggled in. She wasn't cold and wouldn't have been bothered by it anyway, but warmth could be nice as well and Kristoff was very warm. A few moments later and she was asleep, comfy and safe in Kristoff's strong arms.


	19. The Dream

**Anna**

"What does she think she's doing?" Muttered Anna as she looked in on her sister. She hadn't heard Kristoff and Elsa's conversation but at this point didn't really care. It seemed that each time she checked in on them, they were intimate in some way and it had begun to drive Anna up the wall.

"Sleeping with your Kristoff, it would seem," said the face in the mirror. It wasn't manifesting, content instead to let Anna see through it and make commentary.

The servitor growled at the mirror, but didn't rise to swipe at it or shatter it again. Anna had been forced to play the peacemaker between the pair of them when she'd started using the mirror in front of the Servitor, who took offense to it for some reason.

"I can see that," growled Anna. "I just wish I could do something about it. I came up here to learn how to impress him, not let Elsa have her way with him!"

"There are things yet that you may learn," started the mirror, but Anna waved a dismissive hand.

"And what good will those things do if he's hers by the time I leave?" she asked as she saw Kristoff pulled Elsa closer and then fall asleep himself.

The mirror sighed and resolved back into its pale face."I was getting to that. There is a kind of magic I know that will let you peak into the dreams of another and speak with them there. You could gather a glimpse of what they truly mean."

The servitor gave out a concerned growl but Anna ignored it.

"How does it work?" She asked halfway to the mirror already.

"Place your hand upon me and I will show you."

**Kristoff**

Kristoff was enjoying a nice meal of diamonds and veal with his troll family. "It really does taste like happiness and sunshine!" Said Kristoff with a great big smile.

"You just never had the chance to really savor it, Kristoff," said Momma Bulda with a wink.

"This veal tastes wonderful as well! Thank you for sharing it with us!" Said Grand Pabbie. Several other trolls nodded in agreement while a few of the younger trolls tried to sneak it off their plates and feed it to Sven who was busy eating a couple of clouds.

"I just wish Anna and Elsa were here as well! I'd love for them to enjoy this marvelous feast of minerals and meat! Nothing quite like sulfur and bacon in the morning to really round out your day!" Said Kristoff as he piled his plate full up with more minerals.

"But they are here! See, there's Elsa right over there! No reason for her not to be at her own wedding feast, after all!" Cried Momma Bulda as she pointed out Elsa. She was dressed in a flowing, lacy white wedding dress and was making small talk with Grand Pabbie, though she blushed and waved at him from across the way when she saw him looking at her.

"And Anna? Today's her wedding day too, after all," said Kristoff. He looked around and found that they'd moved from his troll family's traditional home in the mountains to the banquet hall of the castle, but all was well. Hans was chained up to the wall and Kai was swimming through the air delivering bonbons and lollipops. Everything was normal.

"There she is, right over there!" Said Kristoff's littlest cousin. He looked up and saw Anna in a dress similar to Elsa's. At first, it looked like it might have been Elsa's twin, but soon blackness flowed into it and her dress shifted into a dark, sultry and seductive thing. Her hair, meanwhile, shifted from a red bun down into long, flowing black locks.

"Hello Kristoff. Fancy meeting you here," she said in an angry tone that didn't match the merry occasion.

The rest of the room began to fade and actions of Elsa and his troll family seemed unimportant. "Welcome to the party, Anna," Kristoff said with hesitation. Something seemed off about her, but he couldn't place what it was.

"Care to explain this?" Asked Anna with a wave of her hand.

"It's our marriage feast, yours and mine and Elsa's," said Kristoff, but Anna didn't seem to hear him. Kristoff saw a paled faced man whispering into her ear as he was talking, so Kristoff spoke up louder. "I SAID, THIS IS …"

"Yours and Elsa's wedding feast, I know," said Anna.

"No, yours and …" Began Kristoff, but it didn't matter. The pale man just spoke over him and the darkness that made up Anna's dress spread and began to the cover the room.

"I heard you the first time. Mirror said that seeing your dreams would let me see what you really think, and now I know. You don't love me anymore." Anna seemed near tears, but when Kristoff tried to go and comfort her she shoved him away. "I don't want your pity!" She said to him, turning instead to the pale faced man.

"And I think that this farce has gone on quite long enough," said a deep voice from across the room.

Kristoff looked over and found that Grand Pabbie had made his stand on the table. The rest of his troll family, as well as Elsa, were now still as all of them focused their gaze on the pale faced man.

"You have no power here, Brother. This is my place," said the pale faced man with a smooth, oily voice.

"And this is my Grandson. Get out and leave his wives out of our conflict," countered Grand Pabbie.

"I am not countering you, Brother. I am against his …" began the pale faced man, but Grand Pabbie would have none of it.

"I care not for whom you set yourself against, only that you do. Get out or I will make you suffer even more than you do," said Grand Pabbie with a more serious face then Kristoff had ever seen on him before.

"This isn't over," said the pale faced man as he wrapped his arms around Anna and began to turn to mist.

"Yes it is," said Grand Pabbie with a finality that was not to be disputed and with a wave of his hand the pale faced man vanished, leaving behind only a howl of frustration.

Grand Pabbie then turned to Kristoff with a kind smile. "I enjoyed your feast, Kristoff, but you really should wake up now."

**Anna**

"What was that?" Asked Anna as she reeled away from the mirror. She hadn't been hurt by Grand Pabbie, but she could feel what he had done and it was as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes for a moment. The servitor came over to her and massaged her shoulders to try and relax her. She wasn't tense, but she appreciated the thought and made no move to stop it.

Mirror, on the other hand, didn't respond for quite some time. Indeed, it took a few minutes for the pale face to reform in the mirror and an age after that before it said anything.

"That was the enemy. Be lucky that you need not face his kind," said the mirror. It said nothing more after that for the rest of the evening.


	20. Getting Frisky (nsfw)

**Author's Note: This scene gets steamy between Kristoff and Elsa. You have been warned. This is a Mature story after all, so Mature things are going to happen.**

"What in the world was that?" Cried Kristoff as he woke from his slumber. It was still the middle of the night, but he couldn't get back to sleep. The conversation he'd had was now a distant memory, but the image of Anna turning to the pale faced man for comfort still burned bright in his mind. It was disturbing and not just because the pale faced man was someone else. Kristoff had the distinct impression that the pale faced man didn't mean well. He tried to settle back into the seat of the sled so that Elsa wouldn't notice that he'd woken up, but it was in vain.

"Everything ok?" she asked without opening her eyes or moving from where she lay.

"I don't know. I had a dream about Anna and it was strange," he murmured.

"Strange how?" Asked Elsa, now looking at him with open eyes and a kind smile.

"Well, we were at our wedding feast, yours, mine and Anna's, and she looked different," said Kristoff as he tried to piece together what had been so off about the dream.

"Our wedding feast?" asked Elsa with a bemused grin.

Kristoff shrank a little bit. "Yeah. Everyone I knew was there, and you and Anna were wearing matching wedding dresses. Except after a while Anna's dress changed into something else and her hair turned black."

"That is strange," said Elsa and her face went serious.

"You think so?" asked Kristoff hopefully. She was the magic user, after all. Maybe it would mean something to her.

"Yes. Why on earth would Anna and I wear the same dress on our wedding day? You should know by now that our tastes in dresses are nothing alike," said Elsa and a great big grin broke out onto her face. "Now come on, I want you to show me what my dream dress was," she said and pulled Kristoff off the sled and out into the woods.

"Isn't it a little late for us to be fooling around out here?" asked Kristoff as Elsa led him to a large, silent meadow with the Northern Lights dancing above them.

"It's fine, Kristoff, don't worry," said Elsa with a smile and with a wave of her hands a dome of ice rose up around them and sealed them in. The walls at their sides were a solid mass of white while the dome above them was crystal clear, allowing the Northern Lights to shine through and illuminate the whole meadow with radiant light. With another gesture a door formed in one of the walls. Before Kristoff could ask about it, one of the Snow Sentinels ambled in front of it and plopped down, ensuring that no one could catch them by surprise.

"Now, tell me about my dress," said Elsa, sauntering toward him from where she had been in the middle of the meadow.

"I'm not sure how to describe it," said Kristoff with a bit of a stutter. "It was lacy, and long and very, um, very …" Kristoff trailed off and cupped his hands together in front of his chest. "It was very flattering. You could, uh, you would have been able to see a lot."

Elsa grinned. "So it would have been something like, this?" And just like that, her dress changed shape. The demure thing that she had been wearing in front of Lord Derek changed into a much more hip hugging, sultry thing. A slit went up the side all the way to her waist and Kristoff almost swore that he could see her bust size increase. Or rather, if not increase, she certainly flaunted what she had. The top half of her bust was only just covered by a thin piece of lacy ice that extended up and around her neck, and even then the rest of it was peaking out much more than he'd seen before.

"What do you think? Am I close?" Asked Elsa with a twirl.

Kristoff was stunned. "I, uh, I don't think that my dreams could ever have come up with something as beautiful as that," he said with a stammer.

Elsa walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Well then it's a good thing that I'm here to help you with the details then, isn't it?" She said and drew him forward into a kiss.

Kristoff, though shocked at first, put one are around her waist and cupped the other one around her check and joined her in her enthusiastic kiss.

It was just a soft, tender thing at first, but as they grew used to each other's presence the kisses became longer and more intermingling. It was a few minutes before either of them broke away.

"You can't know how long I've been waiting to do that," said Elsa as she caught her breath.

"A lifetime, I bet," said Kristoff as he leaned in for another kiss.

"A lifetime," confirmed Elsa as she pulled him down onto the grass behind them. "No sense in standing around when we have a whole field to lay in, after all," she said with a smile and a kiss.

"No sense at all," agreed Kristoff, interspersing each word with another kiss. Kristoff moved his hand downward towards the growing warmth between Elsa's legs. He continued to kiss her as his hand slipped inside the slit of her dress and found nothing except the smooth, moist folds of Elsa's womanhood.

Elsa gasped when he put his first finger inside her and moaned into his shoulder as he put another one in to join its brother. "That's … different," she said as she clutched at Kristoff, who had begun to nibble at her neck.

"Good different or bad?" asked Kristoff as he continued to work his hand.

"Good. Definitely good," said Elsa, her insides melting like butter on a hot plate.

"I'm glad. Hold on, I'm going to try something that Anna really loves. Could you move your dress for a second?" Said Kristoff as he began to move down.

Elsa flicked her wrist and the whole thing vanished, allowing Kristoff to glory in her nude form for the first time. He ran a hand down her breasts and revealed in her pale, cold body. "Perfect. Flawless. Lovely," he said as he kissed his way from her neck to her clitoris.

He got down on his hands and knees and used one hand to lift up Elsa's waist and the other to loosen her up more. Once she was moaning, Kristoff got down and went to work.

He started with a simple kiss, but soon he was flicking his tongue across her little rosebud and working two fingers in and out, in and out. He would nibble a bit and then flick his tongue across her before going deeper and deeper inside her.

Elsa, meanwhile, was in heaven. Of course she'd played with herself before. Thirteen years in veritable isolation from everyone had given her a lot of personal time, but she'd never dreamed that someone else could make her feel this good.

"Oh my God," she cried as she gripped Kristoff's hair, forcing him to go deeper inside her. She began to pull and twirl her nipples, which were now almost painfully hard because of the pleasure he was giving her.

"Yes, Yes, YES!" She screamed, almost pulling the hair out of Kristoff's head as she came.

Kristoff, meanwhile, came up gasping for breath with a smile on his face. "I thought you'd like that," he said with a smirk.

Elsa just pushed him back and began to work at the straps on his pants. "You were certainly right, then. Now come on, I have spent the last few weeks hearing Anna scream with delight and by God I am going to feel that same way tonight," she said as she liberated Kristoff's own painfully hard erection from the confines of its cloth prison.

Kristoff started to say "Shouldn't we …" but Elsa ignored him.

"I am through with thinking for tonight, Kristoff. I just want to feel you inside of me," Elsa said as thirteen years of practice at self control and restraint were thrown screaming out the window. She'd spent far too long being afraid of contact with others to want to stop this now. "Besides, you started it," she said as she fumbled around with his cock.

"I started it?" Asked Kristoff, guiding his manhood towards the flower of her womanhood. "If I started it then you certainly seemed eager to help me finish," he said as he thrust his cock inside her.

Elsa squealed with delight as he penetrated deep inside her. There was only so much that one could do with ice, after all, and the sensation of a warm, living man inside her was something that she couldn't have ever created on her own no matter how much ice magic she used.

Kristoff was gentle at first, but Elsa would have none of that. She wanted to feel him fill her up with each thrust and so she rode him as hard as she could. Kristoff, in turn, picked up the pace and began to slam into her deeper and deeper.

Elsa began to tense up as she felt her second orgasm for the night roll over her. "Oh god," she cried with a soft moan, "I think I'm …"

"Me too," said Kristoff as he slowed his pace.

Elsa leaned down and gave Kristoff a long kiss as the orgasm hit her even more intensely than the first one did. She could feel Kristoff stiffen beneath her and soon her womb was filled with his sperm. She collapsed against him and they both lay their like that for some time.

"I sure hope Anna is OK with my joining the pair of you. I don't want to give this up," said Elsa as she ran her hand over Kristoff's chest.

Kristoff, not moving from where he lay, said "I just hope that I'm not digging both our graves now. You didn't see Anna in my dream, Elsa. She looked angry." He shuddered at the image of the rage filled face from his dream, but pulled Elsa closer to him all the same.

Elsa laughed softly. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Anna wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with just the people she loves and who does she love more than us?" She asked, although doubt began to fill her own mind as well now. Anna had wanted her to be more open with people and be more willing to accept the touch of others, true, but Elsa was certain that this hadn't been what she'd meant. _I hope I didn't just lose my sister again,_ she thought as she drifted to sleep in Kristoff's strong arms.


	21. Breakfast

Kristoff woke up the next morning to find a massive sheet of snow and ice had grown up in a circle around Elsa, leaving the place where they lay together as the only green spot left in the meadow. The ice dome, meanwhile, had a collection of stalactites scattered across it that looked a little too precarious for Kristoff's liking. A glance down at Elsa as she curled up against him and he realized what was wrong.

"Elsa, you should wake up. Nothing's happened, you're alright," he said as he gave her shoulder a gentle shake.

She murmured something under her breath and tore away from his hand, sending out another wave of cold and ice.

Kristoff changed tactics and instead gave her a deep kiss. Kristoff felt Elsa move beneath him and soon she was responding with passion and eagerness to his kiss.

"I want you to wake me up like that every morning," she said with a smile once they broke away from each other.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said with a laugh. "In the meantime, care to lift your ice sheet?" He said with another look around.

"What are you talking … Oh," Elsa said as she got up and took in the ice for the first time. "I had a nightmare about Anna," she said as she made a gesture with her hand that banished the excess ice that had overlaid the dome.

"So I gathered," said Kristoff as he got up and stretched. "I just hope that the ice didn't go past the dome. Do you know where my pants went?"

"I think you should just go on like that. I wouldn't mind a bit, and Sven wouldn't know any better," Elsa said with a giggle.

"You wouldn't mind, but Lord Derek might," said Kristoff as he looked around.

"Oh, Lord Derek. Pah," Elsa said with a pout, crossing her arms over her exposed breasts.

"You say that, but he did help stop the monster that Anna sent against us yesterday," said Kristoff as he began to circle out from where they'd been laying the night before in an attempt to find his pants that way.

"He says it was a monster," replied Elsa, hiding his pants under where she sat.

"You saw it as well as I did, and I think that no matter what she meant it to be, it was a monster once it got to us," said Kristoff, raising a hand to his eyes to try and block out the sun to get a better view of the land around them to spy his pants.

Elsa sighed and threw his pants at his head. "So you say. I still think that Anna is just figuring her powers out. After all, I froze the whole kingdom before I was able to discover how my own powers worked."

"True. Still, I can't help but worry about it," said Kristoff as he pulled his pants on and quested about for his boots.

"Over here," said Elsa as she pointed out his boots. "Let's just not worry about it until we meet up with her, shall we?"

"Yeah, what harm can putting off the inevitable even more be, right?" Said Kristoff with a smirk.

Elsa rolled her eyes and conjured up a snowball above his head and laughed as it soaked him to the bone. "We'll be fine. Anna will understand, I'm sure," she said, biting her lip afterwards. Taking a deep breath, Elsa closed her eyes and conjured up a conservative dress to appeal to Lord Derek's sensibilities and show her regal side. When she was sure that Kristoff was fully dressed as well, she banished the dome.

They walked back to where they'd made camp the night before to find Lord Derek making breakfast. "Good morning!" He said with a smile and a wave. "I see that you decided to stay somewhere a little more secure than your sled. I hope you had a relaxing evening."

"It was certainly an eventful evening," mused Kristoff with a glance at Elsa, who blushed.

"Splendid, splendid" said Lord Derek. Kristoff realized that Lord Derek wasn't really listening to what he was saying as he focused his attention on preparing their meal. "I've got some hash, eggs and sausage cooking, should be ready in a little bit. I hope you're hungry."

"Looks lovely," Kristoff said as he looked into the skillet and saw only a mass of brown.

"It's supposed to look like that. Don't knock it till you try it," said Lord Derek as he turned around and started pulling out very old, very beat up tin plates.

"Where on earth did you get these from?" asked Elsa as he passed her a plate filled with what he'd cooked.

Lord Derek didn't respond until he'd handed Kristoff a plate of food as well. "From the witch hunter legions during the war against the Witch Queen of the North. During the last few months supplies started to run out so we shared when we didn't have enough. I got these from a friend of mine who passed and I've kept them with me ever since. Besides, there's nothing handier to have in the middle of the woods than a few tin plates."

Kristoff took a few tentative bites, but once he determined that it wasn't in fact burned, he dove into it with gusto.

Elsa took her time eating it, but still enjoyed it nevertheless.

"So it seems that we should make it to Princess Anna by midday today. What's our plan of attack? How are we going to strike at her?" asked Lord Derek after he'd finished his second portion.

Kristoff began to choke on his food and Elsa sent out a wave of ice that all but extinguished the cooking fire.

"What do you mean, strike at her? What do you think we were planning on doing to her?" Asked Kristoff once he could speak again.

Lord Derek shrugged. "I didn't know, that's why I asked. The last shadow magic user I went up against required an army to put down, but seeing as we aren't exactly an army I was wondering what you were planning on doing."

"Talk to her," said Elsa, giving Lord Derek a steely glare. "We were going to find her, take the mirror away and have a much overdue talk. The last magic thing we used ceased its influence once it was removed and I'm certain that this one will be no different. Then we were going to go home."

"Never mind about what the mirror may have done to influence her, hmm? I like your confidence, Elsa. It's a refreshing breath of air in a world filled with scared little men."

"Is that something we should really be worried about? She's only had it for a few days, what harm could it do? Yes, you say that the last Witch Queen was corrupted by it, but maybe she was already bad. Maybe it just pushed her to what she already wanted to do," mused Kristoff.

Lord Derek took a deep breath before he responded. "Perhaps you're right, but as someone who knew the Witch Queen rather well before she became the Witch Queen, I'd just like to take a few precautions."

Elsa, meanwhile, had had enough. "Lord Derek, ever since Anna left you and your people have been insinuating that Anna's been turned to wickedness and that it's only a matter of time before she puts on a black hat and starts riding broomsticks before an army of monsters, but never once have you taken responsibility for your own actions. Yes, she used your mirror, but if it's so evil then why on Earth do you have it with you? If it hadn't been for you, this would never have happened."

Lord Derek sighed. "I possess the thing because I lifted it from the Witch Queen's chambers after she died. No telling what it could have done if left to its own devices. I brought it with me because I have a daughter with a flair for magic and that thing has a vendetta against me. I am sorry that this has unfolded the way it has, but I do not want the past to repeat itself."

"Then why not just destroy it? Break it in half or shatter the pieces and scatter them to the four corners of the Earth?" asked Kristoff.

"Because that's been done before. Ever wonder why the Thirty Years' War was as gruesome as it was, or why the French Revolution was such a spectacular mess? Breaking the mirror doesn't break its power, it just spreads it out. The trick is to hide it where it can't do any harm and hope it doesn't escape because of some stupid human mistake," said Lord Derek.

"A mistake like yours?" asked Elsa as she finished up her meal.

"Yes, a mistake like mine," said Lord Derek.

"Well, let's try our way first and we'll send you a signal or something if it all goes to crap. How does that sound Elsa?" asked Kristoff as he handed his plate back to Lord Derek, who put it in his bag.

"That seems fair," said Elsa with a reluctant nod, not wanting to risk Anna getting hurt at all.

"Perfectly reasonable," said Lord Derek just as reluctantly. It was obvious that he'd been amping up for a fight and this wasn't what he'd been expecting.

"Good! Let's get cleaned up and set off to meet Anna, then, shall we? We're almost there, after all," said Kristoff with a cheerful clap of his hands.

"Do you know where she is, then?" asked Elsa, who was still more or less in the dark about where they'd been going to.

Kristoff laughed. "Isn't it obvious? She went as far away from people as she could get, where she could work her magic in peace and quiet."

"Oh, of course. Why didn't I realize that? Of course she'd go up there," said Elsa as she looked north.

Lord Derek blinked. "I'm missing something here. Where did she go?"

"The North Mountain. She went to the North Mountain," said Elsa.


	22. A Little Scuffle

The servitor had just finished building up the fire again when Anna heard the door open.

"Anna? It's me, Elsa," said Elsa as she pushed the door open the door of the Winter Palace.

Anna scrambled to make it look as though she hadn't been camped out in more or less the same spot for the past few days. "So you've decided to come by, have you?"

Elsa walked in and seemed to pay little to no mind what was around her. "Anna, Kristoff and I have some things we need to talk to you about."

"Like how you and he have been sleeping together?" Anna asked in an accusatory voice. It was a shot in the dark, she knew, but when Elsa blushed a scarlet red she knew that she'd hit home.

Her heart broke at that, but she pressed on anyway. "Just admit it; you've been trying to steal him away ever since I introduced you to him!" she cried from the balcony where Shadow had built the fire.

"That's a lie!" cried Elsa indignantly and a flurry of cold began to blow around her. "Half of the things we did together we did because you forced us to!"

"Anna, Elsa hasn't been trying to steal me away," said Kristoff as he slipped inside.

"And so the betrayer enters," cried Anna as soon as she spied Kristoff.

"Anna I haven't betrayed you," said Kristoff as he approached the staircase leading up to her.

"Each time I've seen you over the last few days you two have been hanging off of each other all the while, hugging and clinging to each other like lovers! What else would that mean but a betrayal?" asked Anna as she retreated to the magic mirror. The servitor stepped forward to stop her but stopped when she raised her hand to him.

"Anna, you've been cooped up in your room with that thing the last few days! The only time we saw you was when we were at dinner with Lord Derek's folk and even then you were only down there for a moment. What on Earth are you talking about?" asked Kristoff as he moved to stand next to Elsa.

It was Anna's turn to blush now. "I was watching you with my magic, so don't deny it! I saw the way you were fawning over him at that fencing thing and how you both crawled all over each other at dinner! I could even hear you speaking! You kept going on about how you wanted to be together with my Kristoff and what I would say about it. Well I heard you, and my answer is no!" Anna set her hand against the mirror and sent a blast of raw shadow magic down at Elsa.

Elsa raised an ice shield on instinct and was amazed to see much of Anna's attack roll off of it, though that part that impacted it rocked her backwards and cracked the ice Elsa had raised.

Anna howled in frustrated rage and a surge of dark shadows spread out from where she stood. She raised her hand again, now totally covered with an inky black shadow, and sent another blast of power down at Elsa.

This time it totally cracked the ice shield Elsa had raised and sent Elsa herself spiraling to the ground. Anna let out a triumphant whoop. "See Elsa? I'm stronger than you, deadlier than you and soon I'll be much more beautiful than you. It's hard to love a corpse, after all."

"Anna," whispered Elsa as she saw Anna raise one last blast of shadow magic and hurl it at her. She didn't try to block this time, wanting this wretched conflict with her sister to just be done.

It was amazing to everyone, then, when the shadows cleared to reveal that Elsa had not been harmed by Anna's attack at all.

Anna stopped moving, torn between her confusion at her rage towards her sister and both a desire to see her suffer more than anyone had suffered before her. She jerked her head towards the door when she heard it creak open.

"Is everything alright in here? Only I just heard a bit of yelling and wanted to be sure your talk was going well," asked Lord Derek as he poked his head in.

Anna screamed and sent a blast of shadows at him. He pulled the door shut to block them but he needn't have bothered as the shadows tore them off their hinges and sent them sprawling into the ravine behind them.

Elsa readied a mesh of raw ice magic while Kristoff stood off to the side, unable to aid or hinder either side, but Anna ignored them. She pulled a deep well of shadow magic from the mirror and then leapt from the balcony to where Lord Derek lay as he tried to push the remains of one of the doors off of him.

"Stay out of my family's business, you fowl little man," Anna said as strutted up to him, unharmed by the jump. She raised her arm and let the shadows surge out from her fingertips and flow into Lord Derek.

His shock at her actions was soon overcome by the horror of whatever the shadows were doing to him. His eyes turned black as Anna's shadow magic filled him and he opened his mouth to let out silent scream, unable to even speak a coherent thought anymore.

"Now where was I?" Anna asked as she turned back to Elsa. "Oh yes. I remember," she said as she called up another ball of shadow magic and threw it as hard as she could at Elsa.

This time, though, Elsa was ready. As soon as it got close to her, Elsa called up a curved wall of ice and watched as the shadow splashed against it, first splitting and then reforming into a ball of shadow that left a large gash in the floor in front of it.

Anna sneered at Elsa and tried to leap back up the balcony. However, much to her embarrassment, she found out that without the power boost from the mirror she could jump no higher than anyone else could. When she made a dash for the staircase, Elsa waved her hand in front of her and Anna found that where the staircase had been there was now a smooth sheet of ice while the mirror itself was surrounded by a barrier made of ice.

"So you're not content with just Kristoff now, you have to take away everything else that's mine as well?" asked Anna, near tears.

"She hasn't taken anything from you, Anna. I'm yours, I promise, but Elsa is dear to me now as well," said Kristoff, gently pulling Anna into his embrace from behind her.

Anna tried to fight him off, but the mountain man's grip was firm around her. "Let me go, you betrayer! I don't want your pity, I don't want anything you have to give me secondhand!"

She managed to push him away, but he just spun her around and gripped her shoulders. "Anna. I wouldn't give you pity. You're better than that. I only give my love, wholly and unabashedly."

She tried to fight him off again only for Elsa to come up to her and embrace her. "Anna, we love each other, but only because you brought us together in that special way of yours. Why on Earth would we want to turn around and hurt you now?"

Anna was torn. The rage that had filled her up before was subsiding, but she still didn't trust either of them. She'd spent too much time over the past few days feeling her hate grow to just let it slide away. "Kristoff, if you love me and I mean really love me, then you'll let me look and make sure."

"Do what you need to do," said Kristoff as he stepped back to let her take a look at him.

Anna knelt on the ground and once she found a good spot of reflection, willed her power into it. It was harder without the mirror to guide her, but somehow it felt freer as well. She focused on Kristoff and, just as she had with Lord Derek before, dove into his mind to find the line that lead to his love.

As she expected, there was a brilliant trail that lead back to Elsa. Images of shared glimpses flashed through his mind and a night spent making love flared up and Anna sobbed. She almost broke contact when she noticed another trial just as brilliant that lead to her. She focused on it and found every moment of their romance replying in her mind. Dreams of Kristoff's and her potential marriage floated up to her at first, soon joined by dreams of marriage between Kristoff, her and Elsa as well.

She didn't know when the images finally stopped flowing into her, but when she came to she found Elsa and Kristoff holding her in an embrace between the pair of them.

"We love you, Anna. We've always loved you and we always will. We just want to share that love between all of us now," said Kristoff to her softly.

"Please let us back in, Anna. I don't want to lose you again," said Elsa, near tears herself.

Anna nodded adamantly. The rage and hate was gone now and in its place was a brilliant love that she'd thought was gone forever.


	23. Back to the Trolls

"I suppose I should take away whatever it was I gave to Lord Derek now, shouldn't I?" Asked Anna after they got up from their group hug.

"If you can it might be for the best, diplomatically speaking," said Elsa with a hesitant smile. She wasn't sure that Anna would know how to left what she'd done, but perhaps she's learned something of this from the mirror as well. She dispersed the ice that made up the doors to make it easier for her.

"An apology might be in order as well," said Kristoff as she walked over to him.

Anna rolled her eyes but smiled as she knew he was right. "Ok, let's see here. I hit him here," she said as she reached out for his forehead.

The instant she touched him Anna was hit with an almost blinding wave of fear, hatred and loathing. "What did I do?" Asked Anna as she recoiled in horror.

"What's wrong?" Kristoff asked as he raced to Anna's side.

"I can't do it, Kristoff. I don't think that I can even touch him now," Anna said as she stared at the quivering wreck that had once been Lord Derek.

"Well, I'll carry him for you then. No sense in pushing yourself any more than you already have," said Kristoff as he lifted Lord Derek up and went to deposit him in the back of the sled.

Elsa went to her frightened sister and put an arm around her for comfort. "Don't worry, Anna. Just because you can't lift it doesn't mean no one can."

Right on cue, Kristoff came up behind them and joined the conversation. "She's right, Anna. I think that it's time we paid a visit to my family. I wish that this wasn't how you met them again, but it seems we live in strange times." He brushed a hand against her hair and smiled. "And this is the second color they've seen on you. I don't think that they've ever seen your natural hair, as a matter of fact."

Anna reached for a braid and found that it had gained an inky black color. She stared at it for a moment and then looked up at Kristoff. "Is it bad?"

Kristoff looked at it for a moment and smiled. "No, it's great."

"You hesitated," said Elsa with a grin.

Kristoff rolled his eyes and gave her a soft punch on the shoulder. "Stop it, you."

Kristoff then looked up at the sky and frowned. "We'd better get moving. If this is anything like it was with you, Anna, we need to help him as soon as we can."

Anna nodded her head and began to go over to the sled before she changed her mind and went back inside the Winter Palace. "I need to get my servitor!" She cried over her shoulder, and a few moments later she was leading out the shadowy creature that Kristoff had spied insider earlier.

It was smaller than the thing they'd encountered in the woods, and less violent. Rather than seeking them out as a target and potential food, it instead hovered near Anna as a sheepdog might guard a flock of sheep or a governess might fret about her charge. Kristoff got the distinct impression that so long as he didn't hurt Anna it wouldn't do anything to him.

"Should we worry about leaving the mirror alone?" He asked as Elsa, Anna and the shadow creature settled into various parts of the sled. Elsa just called up one of the snow sentinels she'd made the night before and a few moments later it came out bearing the ice encased mirror.

"Better?" She asked as the thing lumbered beside them.

"Good enough for me. Hyah Sven!" Said Kristoff and Sven was off like a shot, going over the bridge that Elsa had made for them leading up to her palace and soaring through the mountains that he and Elsa had taken to get there as fast as Elsa could conjure up her snow. The snow sentinels tracked beside, thundering with each passing step.

Kristoff guided Sven and the sled deeper into the mountains, past ravines and the through crevices on a path that could only be followed if you know the way. Anna tried to track follow where he was going, since she'd been this way before but each time she tried to take it in and remember it, the details would slip away again, unwilling or unable to stay fixed in her mind.

Soon Kristoff slowed them down and Elsa and Anna found themselves in a familiar meadow filled with boulders of varying sizes.

"Hey everybody, I'm back!" Cried Kristoff as he leapt from the sled.

The boulders did nothing but continue to lie where they were. Elsa looked at Anna and raised an eyebrow. "Does he know they're just rocks?" She asked. Her memory of her first encounter with the trolls was a little fuzzy, but she knew that they'd been moving, talking and were, in general, very animated.

"Give it a bit, they'll come around," said Anna as she watched Kristoff try to rouse his family, greeting them and paying them complements as he walked to each boulder.

Elsa rolled her eyes and walked down to join him and Anna followed close after, not wanting to be left out of things. "Excuse me, but we need your help," Elsa said in a loud voice.

Right away the rocks began to roll and shift towards the three of them, and soon the whole clan was looking at them and murmuring amongst themselves. "It's the Queen, Kristoff came with the Queen," they said to one another.

Elsa took a step towards Kristoff and he put an arm around her, pulling her close. Anna had already situated herself likewise but it seemed that her presence wasn't as shocking to the trolls.

When the trolls saw what she'd done, they stopped talking and stared at the three of them, blinking in unison.

"Kristoff brought the Queen and his Anna! Kristoff's here to marry the Queen and his Anna!" said a loud troll adorned with bright red crystals and in an instant all of the trolls were cheering.

Elsa and Anna found themselves being shuffled away by a consortium of other trolls adorned with red and pink crystals while Kristoff was pulled away by deep voiced trolls with blue and green crystals.

"Wait, wait, no, not again!" Said Kristoff as the trolls began to pull together outfits made of moss, grass and trees to adorn them all. "We don't have time for this" he said but the trolls around him just laughed.

"A little eager, aren't we?" Said one with a chuckle. "Well, first things first. Time enough for that later!"

A third group of trolls split off and began to dig a pit and adorn it with the same kind of green finery they were covering Elsa, Anna and Kristoff with.

It was only when the three of them had been plopped down into the pit and the ceremony had begun that a much older troll appeared. The troll had a veritable mane of greenery and wore the same sort of things that they all wore in the pit, and he did not look happy. "I sense something, a presence I have not felt sense ages past. What have you done, child?" he said, turning to give Anna his full attention and she withered under his gaze.


	24. The Witch Queen of the North

**Anna**

"I just wanted him to stop hurting us. I didn't mean to really hurt him," said Anna in a quiet voice.

"Let me see him," said the old troll as he strode forward. Anna gestured at Shadow and he lifted up Lord Derek from the back of the sled like one might do with a sick child. Shadow then bounded over to the old troll and laid Lord Derek down before him and stepped back.

"Can you help him Grand Pabbie?" asked Kristoff as he knelt down next to the old troll, Grand Pabbie.

Grand Pabbie laid his hand on Lord Derek's forehead and kept it there for a moment before shaking his head. "There is nothing that I can do. The shadows are drawing on the fears and nightmares of his heart to torture him, so the only way to free him would be to prove to him beyond a doubt that they are nothing more than air and darkness."

"I didn't mean to, I mean, I wasn't trying to …" Anna said as she looked at Lord Derek's twitching body with dismay.

"Couldn't you just take out the memory of the attack, like you did before?" Asked Elsa. She hadn't yet told Anna about what she'd done to her as a child as the moment never seemed to be right.

Grand Pabbie frowned. "It is not that easy, my dear. Removing the magic at its source would rip out everything that makes Lord Derek who he is, leaving him catatonic or insane."

"I swear I didn't know," said Anna again and she fell to her knees shaking. Elsa went to Anna and knelt down next to her, holding her close in her arms. Anna leaned up against her sister and just shivered, whispering 'I didn't know' to herself over and over.

"Well, what are his nightmares about? Maybe we can just talk him down," said Kristoff.

Grand Pabbie shrugged. "I suppose there can be no harm in showing you." Grand Pabbie touched Lord Derek's forehead and a barrage of images filled the sky above them. Grand Pabbie focused on the center-most image and magnified it so they could all see Lord Derek's fears.

**Lord Derek, Six Years Ago**

"Damn it, man, we can't hold them back much longer! We have to find her and kill her now!" Cried Sergeant Wells as he speared one of Vanessa's shadow men. Sir Derek refused to call her the Witch Queen, no matter what the rank and file said. She wasn't the queen of anything other than a moldy old castle although he was forced to admit that she was now indeed quite the witch.

"What do you expect me to do? Walk around and just ask her to come out and talk with me? That barely worked before, why on Earth would it work now?" Sir Derek replied as he lobbed a sunburst at the stairwell ahead of them. An explosion of light filled with inhuman screams indicated that it had done its work.

"I don't understand why she won't just come to fight us face to face?" Asked Lord Simpson as he peaked into the stairwell that Sir Derek had just cleared. He gestured for their group to go on ahead once he was sure it was safe for them.

"Why bother if she can just throw creature after creature at us?" Asked Jenkins as he snapped the neck of a creature that had somehow managed to survive the Sunburst.

Sir Derek was happy he didn't need to face Vanessa yet, to be honest. It had been over a year since he'd last seen her, and even then he felt that night had been a mistake.

Jenkins reached the door at the top of the stairs and held a up a hand to signal for silence. Sir Derek moved up next to him and he heard muffled voices coming through the door. One of them was Vanessa but he didn't know the other.

"Mirror, I don't know what to do. I keep throwing creature after creature at them but they won't leave! Why don't they realize I just want to be left alone?" Vanessa said as she started to cry.

"You haven't been adamant enough my dear. Perhaps you could show them how strongly you feel about the matter," said another, deeper voice.

"What the devil does she mean?" Whispered Jenkins to Sir Derek, but before Sir Derek could respond the door exploded. Two blank tendrils shot through where the door had been and pulled Sergeant Wells and Lord Simpson through.

"Oh you naughty boys, listening in on my private conversation. Naughty boys should be punished!" She cried and the tendrils began to pull at the two men's' limbs.

Sergeant Wells began to scream as the pull against his limbs increased. Lord Simpson lasted a few moments longer but soon both men were screaming in concert with each other, unable to comprehend anything but the pain of what they were undergoing.

Jenkins charged in at her but she jerked her head and slammed him into the wall in front of her where the shadows began to attack and swarm over him, and Sir Derek was left alone on the stairs.

"And my dear husband, how kind of you to join me here," Vanessa said to me with a wicked grin.

"Darling. It does seem strange that we keep meeting like this," Sir Derek said as he forced out a smile and walked to her.

She draped her arms over his shoulders and gave him a sly smile. "It's been too long, my dear. I have something I want show you."

"Of course. But first," Sir Derek said and pulled her into a kiss.

She melted in his arms and for a brief, shining moment all was right in the world and he tried to pretend that everything was as it once was.

Then he pulled the dagger from his belt and that dream ended.

"Derek, what have you done?" Said Vanessa as blood poured out her. She felt the wound and tried to wipe away the viscous red liquid that flowed from it as if that might make it go away.

"I'm sorry, but it had to be done," he said as he helped her to the floor.

Vanessa nodded. "Take care of Estelle for me," she said and the life went out of her eyes.

Lord Simpson and Sergeant Wells slumped to the floor and Jenkins relaxed as the things attacking him vanished.

"She's done then?" Jenkins asked as he wiped his blade clean.

Sir Derek nodded. "She's done."

A wailing noise from across the room made Sergeant Wells perk up. "Perhaps not," he said in a monotone voice. He drew his sword and crept towards the sound.

In a flash Sir Derek was up and racing towards the wail, tripping up Sergeant Wells as he ran by. The wail came from looked to be nothing more than a bundle of blankets but when he peeled the blankets away he found a small, healthy baby girl.

"Estelle," whispered Sir Derek as he rocked the crying child to sleep.

"It doesn't matter who or what it is beyond that it is a creature of the Witch Queen and as such must die before it can do any damage," said Sergeant Wells as he got up.

"It matters when she's my daughter, Sergeant," snapped Sir Derek.

"Perhaps we should give the girl a chance," said Jenkins as he went over to look at Estelle.

"A chance then, but if she shows signs of magic I will put her down before she can do any harm," said Sergeant Wells.

**Anna, Now**

More images flashed by and they saw the girl enchant her first plant and watched her power grow and saw Lord Derek, while excited for his daughter, become more and more afraid for her. Images of a burning pyre and legions of witch hunters went by and became more and more intense until Anna could no longer look at them.

With a wave of his hand the images vanished and Grand Pabbie turned to speak to them. "Now you know his fear and why I cannot remove the source of it. The only way save him would be to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the girl is safe from harm before the magic rots his mind away."

"That shouldn't be too bad then. We just take him back to his ship and send him home. Problem solved," said Kristoff with a cheerful smile.

Elsa frowned and shook her head. "If we want to start a war, maybe. You met the good Captain, Kristoff. What else do you think he'd tell the king of Weselton if we sent Lord Derek back like this?" She said with a gesture to Lord Derek as he lay shivering and twitching.

"Elsa, it looked like they only barely won their last magical war and that was just against one person. If they want a war I think that we'd win it with you and Anna working together." Kristoff said as he puffed out his chest.

"I don't want to start a war with Weselton, Kristoff, no matter how they acted towards us," said Elsa with a resigned sigh.

"Unless you mean to throw Anna to the wolves, I don't see what else we can do," said Kristoff as he moved in front of Anna.

"I can bring her here," said Anna, almost to herself.

"What?" Asked Elsa and Kristoff in unison as they both looked over to Anna.

"I can bring his daughter here. I think I could find my way to her and bring her back. I saw her when I was using the mirror and I know I could go to her if I tried," said Anna.

Kristoff gaped at her. "How?" He asked as a sea of questions floated up in his mind.

"The same way I went to the North Mountain. It'll be a little longer, sure, but how much harder can it be?" Anna said as she gave him a small smile, hoping that the exhaustion that she'd felt before was a onetime thing.

**Author's Note: The Duke of Weselton wasn't always the Duke of Weselton, in case you're wondering who Lord Simpson is.**


	25. Estelle

"Be careful when you get there, Anna. I don't want you to hurt yourself for his sake," said Kristoff as he gave her a final hug.

"How hard could it be to avoid a few guards? I'll be back before you know it," Anna said as she forced a smile onto her face in an attempt to mask her fear.

"Just be safe, Anna. Don't do anything crazy," said Elsa as she gave her Anna her own embrace.

"When have I done anything crazy?" asked Anna with a smile. She gave Elsa a squeeze, then stepped back and focused on all the memories and thoughts of Estelle that she'd gleaned from Lord Derek, intermingling them with shadow magic and the desire to move, just as she'd done when she gone to the North Mountain.

It took more effort than the first time she'd mysted, but she could sense the trail that she had to follow. She zoomed along through the woods at first, intent on not leaving a trail that could be followed, but that ended when she mysted through a tree on accident.

She hadn't meant to hit it but she'd been distracted by a doe watching over her fawns and plowed right into it but instead of bouncing off of it or being otherwise repelled by the tree's own substance Anna disintegrated the tree upon impact. She could feel it break apart around her and when she took a glance back she could see it turn to vapor.

Anna, meanwhile, felt as though she'd just sprinted from the highest tower in the castle all the way to the gates so she decided that it would be for the best to stay above the tree line. The folks from Weasel Town might see her but better that than exhaust herself before she could get to Lord Derek's daughter.

On the plus side the trail to Estelle grew a bit brighter once she went above the tree line and so she was able to snake along after it easier. The trail would curve and dip on occasion, but generally it would pop up a little ways later. As she went on she grew more adept at finding the path. When Anna realized that the path was leading back to Arendelle she tried to just zip there and then try to find the path again. To her shock the instant she veered away from Estelle's path she found that it took an exponentially larger amount of effort to even remain in mist form, much less move towards Arendelle.

As she passed over Arendelle Anna felt more tired than she'd ever been before but she pushed herself forward, known that she'd never go on if she stopped now. She caught a glimpse of Captain Wells as he spoke to one of Lord Derek's other men but she was sure that he didn't see her. At least, she hoped so.

Things became once she started travelling over the sea. The trail didn't change course much as it followed the wind and currents. _Just keep going, just keep going, just keep going_ Anna told herself over and over. _It's not that far, I'll be there in the blink of an eye. _She tried to dip below the waves to see if that would help her go faster but it was like hitting a stone wall, so that was a onetime experiment.

After another hour of concentrated travel, Anna found herself soaring into the capitol city of Weasel Town. This time there were any number of overt witch hunters who paused when they saw her soaring by but she ignored them. _Maybe they'll just be too shocked to do anything_ Anna thought to herself as she followed Lord Derek's trail to an estate on near the edge of the city.

She shattered a few doors as she followed the trail up to Estelle's chambers, stopping just outside her door so that Estelle wouldn't panic at the city of her. When she found that Estelle's door was locked she just sighed and phased through it as well, blasting it to bits in the process.

Anna hadn't gotten a good view of Estelle any of the times she'd ever viewed her so she paused before making another move. Estelle wasn't a teenage beauty or anything like it. She was a dark haired young child with brilliant emerald green eyes. Her room was painted green and was filled with plants of every kind.

"Daddy?" Mumbled Estelle as she heard the door explode. She didn't shoot out of bed at the sound, content instead to just roll back to sleep. Lord Derek must've had an interesting home life.

"No, dear, it's a friend of daddy's," said Anna as she knelt next to the bed.

Estelle opened a dreary eye and gave a hopeful smile. "Mommy? Daddy said you'd gone away."

Anna's heart broke a little at that. "Yes, I'm back. You need to come with me now, though. Daddy's in trouble."

Estelle nodded. "Ok. Will we fly? I have dreams of flying with you," she said, settling into Anna's arms as she picked her up.

"Of course my dear," said Anna as the girl fell back asleep. She didn't want to have to fight or convince the girl to travel with a stranger, true, but it made her feel wretched lying to her like this.

Anna, with Estelle sleeping once again in her arms, walked to the window. She couldn't feel Lord Derek's path now that she had Estelle with her so she focused on Kristoff. The sky lit up with a path that lead to him and so Anna focused on it and tried to mist home.

It was much harder now that she was carrying Estelle as well. It took her a few minutes to gather the mists around her and flow out the window and even then it was much slower going than it was before.

The simple straight path lead back into the city, so she followed it there. That was a mistake. The witch hunters in the city had indeed noticed her passing so when she passed by again, going as fast as she could while minding the sleeping girl in her arms, the witch hunters were ready for her.

It seemed that each building had a weapon mounted onto it and they all were locked on her path. They fired little blazing balls of light that would explode when they got close enough to Anna, uncomfortable to be sure but not painful. That is, until they started to hit her.

A few hit her and detonated and it felt as though her insides were being ripped apart. She knew that the first one only missed Estelle by chance so afterwards Anna bent and twisted her body so that any possible balls of light that were fired at her wouldn't hit the girl.

This made her flight pattern rather erratic so it was harder to hit her for a while. Once they started loading the big guns, though, they didn't need to be accurate. Each near miss felt as though it was ripping off parts of her flesh. When the occasional ball of light actually did hit her it was as if her insides were on fire, but she pushed on nevertheless. After all, it wasn't just her life at stake anymore.

It got worse after she entered the harbor. When she'd first flown through she just thought it was full of lighthouses. She now knew that while they might be lighthouses as well, they were also without a doubt more firing cannons, these ones much bigger than the ones in the city. Their bombs lit up the sky as they ripped out chunks of flesh from Anna's spectral form. She was lucky none of them hit her since she knew that it would have been game over if they had.

Nevertheless, once she began to cross the sea she knew the damage had been done. She felt as though her lungs were on fire and every part of her body burned with pain but still she pushed on. She waivered and crashed into the ocean a couple times and the sting gave her just enough of a push to keep going, but only just.

Her hopes increased when she saw Arendelle again and she threw what caution she had left to the wind as she forced her body back towards the trolls and Kristoff.

Which was why she never saw Captain Wells' shot coming. It blindsided her and she nearly careened into the castle, but still she limped on. The shot had, once again, missed Estelle but it had gone straight into Anna's heart. She could feel her life blood flow away and vanish in the wind as she limped onwards towards Kristoff.

A couple times she almost dropped Estelle because of the pain, but she did her best to carry her as she travelled, swallowing the pain as she did so.

When she got close to the Kristoff and Grand Pabbie she finally saw Shadow again. He leapt up to her and she passed off Estelle to him in an attempt to keep at least her safe. Once Estelle was safe in his arms, though, she gave up and her last thoughts were _At least someone will be saved_ as she slammed into the ground at Kristoff's feet.


	26. Grand Pabbie

**Meanwhile, Back with the Trolls**

Once Anna had left to fetch Estelle, Grand Pabbie turned back to Elsa and Kristoff and sighed. "Now for the other nasty business at hand. I can feel the pull of the dark one's power even from here. Where have you placed the mirror?"

Elsa looked at Kristoff and raised an eyebrow, but Kristoff just shrugged. "I stopped questioning him a long time ago about this sort of thing," he said.

Elsa sighed and snapped her fingers. In an instant the snow sentinel with it brought the mirror forward and slammed it into the ground in front of Grand Pabbie.

Grand Pabbie walked up to the mirror and placed his hand on the ice sheet and nodded in approval. "I am not sure that this would have kept him contained if push came to shove, but it was a wise precaution nevertheless. Still, I would like you to remove your ice for now."

Elsa made a gesture and the ice that sealed in the mirror's face vanished although she left enough behind so that it wouldn't fall and shatter.

At first the mirror did nothing, acting just as a normal mirror might. "It was working before," mused Kristoff. "Maybe you have to hit it." He began to walk up to give it a good smack when he was tackled by two members of his family.

"Best not," said one.

"To touch it," finished the other.

"It's not safe," they said in unison.

"Kristoff, allow me," said Grand Pabbie as he turned to face the mirror. "Bound one, servant of the first fallen, I command you to come forth and speak to me."

His voice rang with authority and soon enough the pale face surfaced in the mirror. "Hello, brother," it said with a smirk.

Grand Pabbie ignored its greeting. "What is your aim, Fallen?" His voice was filled with a quiet rage Kristoff had never heard from him before.

The pale face frowned. "You call me Fallen? You're one to talk, Bystander," it said, spitting out the word.

Grand Pabbie ignored whatever slight the face in the mirror intended. "I call you Fallen because it is true. Now tell me what your aim is here."

The face in the mirror rolled its eyes. "My plan? Dear brother, my plan is the same as it has ever been. Why should I change it now?"

Grand Pabbie's eyes narrowed. "Because now, as before, it affects me and mine. Cease your meddling or suffer."

The face in the mirror just laughed. "I can't stop it now any more than you can. The pieces have been set and the players are in motion. It's only a matter of time before things go as they should. So lock me away or seal me up, but no matter what you do, know that I won."

"The game is not over yet, Fallen, and Anna is stronger than you think," said Grand Pabbie defensively.

The face in the mirror just shrugged, if that was possible for a thing without a body. "Perhaps you're right, Bystander, but the witch hunters of Weselton are skilled as well and I am sure that Anna, while an adept student, is not yet as adept at avoiding their powers as they are at finding hers."

Elsa gapped at his comment. She hadn't thought, nay, even considered what Weselton would have done to prepare against witches, real or imagined. "What do you mean by that? What could they do to her?"

Again, the face in the mirror seemed to shrug. "Any number of things, I suppose. Anna isn't the first witch to cross their path, after all, and they are such a clever people."

"What is your plan, anyway?" Asked Kristoff, but the mirror didn't respond.

"War and hate. Endless war, endless hate, those have been the things it has striven for since the moment it was made," said Grand Pabbie as the mirror's silence continued.

"But at least I have goals, unlike you," countered the mirror.

Grand Pabbie narrowed his eyes. "My aim is to protect my family and my clan, for better or for worse."

The face in the mirror laughed. "Like I said, unlike you. Bystander."

"Why do you keep calling him that? His name is …" began Kristoff indignantly, but the mirror interrupted him.

"I am aware of what you say his name is. I call him Bystander because, at his core, that's all he is. A bystander. Never interacting, never interfering, never doing anything that will hurt him. He would sit and watch your world turn to ash if he thought it wouldn't affect him and his."

"That's not true," said Elsa as memories of his healing touched resurfaced. "When I hurt Anna as a child, he healed her with his magic."

Again the mirror laughed. "And look where that got him. His adopted grandson is more or less engaged to marry both royals of a kingdom, so it still worked out well. Do you think that he would have done the same if you'd been some lowly peasant?"

"Yes," said Grand Pabbie without hesitation.

"Then you are much more foolish than I remember, brother," said the mirror in turn.

"Stop calling him brother, you fowl thing," said Kristoff.

The mirror chuckled. "But we are brothers, he and I, or have you not heard this story?"

Grand Pabbie was loath to ever tell stories of his own past, so Kristoff had heard very little of what Grand Pabbie's extended family was like, although he tried to not give rise to his curiosity.

The mirror seemed to have picked up on it anyway, since it laughed. "He hasn't, has he? Well then, _great nephew mine_, I think it's time you learned about your adopted family."

Grand Pabbie scowled but said nothing to stop the mirror.

The mirror rolled its' eyes back in its' head as it reminisced. "This was ages ago, mind you, but the time still burns bright in my mind. Our father had just created a new being, a thing that was superior to all of us, or so he said. My peers disagreed while his favorites stood up for him. My peers and I lost the little scuffle we had and so we were cast out. Fair enough. Your dear Grand Pabbie, on the other hand, did nothing. His folk just stood off and watched us fight, content to join the side of the victor. Of course Father didn't like that at all, but they decided to leave before they were banished themselves, content to say that they would leave on their own terms rather than become members of the Fallen. So instead they are the Bystanders, unable and unwilling to act on behalf of those that won't benefit them in some way."

"And so you think you're better than him?" Said Kristoff after a while, filled with silent rage.

The mirror laughed. "I know I'm better than him. At least I stand for something, no matter what that something is."

"Grand Pabbie stands for something!" Cried Kristoff.

"What?" Asked the mirror in a bemused tone.

"Arendelle. We stand for Arendelle," said Grand Pabbie. The rest of the trolls gathered behind him and nodded in agreement.

The mirror smirked. "Again, you stand for you and yours, but would you stand for Arendelle if your grandson wasn't engaged to both of its' royals? I didn't see your influence spread to Weselton during their little hiccup."

"We did what we could for them when we learned what was happening," said Grand Pabbie.

"But since what you could do was nothing, I think it all works out the same way, doesn't it?" finished the mirror for him.

"What is your plan?" Asked Elsa as she brimmed with curiosity.

"I already told you. War. Endless, mindless, glorious war," said the mirror.

"War with who? We're trying to make peace with Weselton," said Elsa as she narrowed her eye as the mirror.

The mirror chortled. "But when the witch hunters of Weselton strike her down and discover who was flying above them, what do you think they'll do? Let it go? Or perhaps, if Anna does return, when Lord Derek wakes up from his nightmares, what do you think his reaction will be? Thanks for waking him, or rage at being forced to live and relive his worst nightmares for hours on end? The die is cast, your Majesty, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Kristoff looked up and grinned. "Well you can just shove it, mirror man. Anna's back."

Elsa looked up and saw that Anna's misty form had indeed returned, but it looked strange. When Anna had left, it was a solid, coherent thing. Now it looked ragged and seemed to warble across the sky, dipping and weaving like a drunkard stumbling home. "Something's wrong."

The servitor leapt into action, scaling and bounding from tree to tree like a squirrel until he was able to leap out to catch Anna. To their surprise, it took a little part of the shadows away from it while the main chunk continued in a straight line for Kristoff.

It slammed into the ground once then rose and slammed again before rolling to a stop in front of Kristoff. It shimmered for a moment before materializing back into Anna but she didn't look well. Gashes, scrapes and bruises covered her while some of her limbs were bent at angles they shouldn't have been at.

"Anna," Kristoff murmured as he knelt to gather her into his arms. Louder, he said "Elsa, Anna's been hurt."

He needn't have bothered, though, as Elsa had dashed over to her sister the moment she saw here come down. "Anna! Oh Anna, please stay with us, please. I can't lose you again."

"Is Estelle alright?" Asked Anna as she opened her eyes.

"Who?" Asked Kristoff.

"The little girl. Is she alright?" Asked Anna, trying to get up to look around for her.

Kristoff held her down in his arms to keep her from moving and tried to spy what she was talking about. He saw Shadow leap down from a tree and saw that he was carrying a small, sleepy little girl, unmarred by the damage that had marked Anna.

"She's fine," said Kristoff.

Anna heaved a heavy sigh. "Good. That's good," she said. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed.

Elsa began to weep and Kristoff just held her in his arms as he felt Anna's body start to shut down.


	27. According to Plan

"Estelle, what are you doing here?" Elsa and Kristoff heard Lord Derek say from across the way. When Elsa looked over at him she found that the quivering wreck they'd brought to Grand Pabbie was gone and had been replaced by the proud noble from Weselton they'd come to know. He was holding his daughter in his arms like a piece of fine china and she lay there in perfect happiness.

"I flew with mommy," Estelle said in a sleepy voice.

"Mommy? Estelle, mommy has gone away, you know that as well as I," said Lord Derek and Elsa could hear the pain in his voice.

Estelle just shook her head. "No, mommy is over with the nice queen and the smelly man."

Lord Derek looked over at them for the first time. "Oh. Yes, there she is," and rage filled his face. He set down Estelle and thundered over to Anna. "I don't care what you are now, highness, but know this," he started until he felt Estelle, who'd followed her father over to them, pulling on his pant leg.

"She doesn't look good, daddy. I don't want mommy to go away again," said Estelle as looked down at Anna.

The scowl drained away from Lord Derek's face and was replaced by a hesitant smile. "And she won't, I promise. Now step back for a moment, flower. Mommy needs some space before we can heal her."

Lord Derek knelt down next to Anna and felt her pulse. "They must hit her with a whole armory of sunbursts." He looked around for a moment, then called out. "You, shadow thing! If you wish your mistress to survive the night then come over here."

The servitor scowled but leapt over to Lord Derek in an instant and gave him a look that said 'I'm here, now what?'

Lord Derek ignored it and turned to Anna. "Anna, you have to turn to mist now."

Anna shook her head. "No, fu … fu … you …" she said, trailing off.

Lord Derek looked up at Elsa. "Your Majesty, your sister has to turn to mist again. If she turns to mist while touching her shadow creature, she can absorb it and heal herself with its strength, you must trust me."

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "And if she dies instead? How do I know this isn't a ploy?"

"It isn't, I swear on my honor," said Lord Derek, not looking away.

Elsa nodded and turned back to Anna. "Anna, you have to turn to mist, please."

Anna shook her head again. "It hurts," she whispered and squeezed Elsa's hand.

Elsa squeezed back, then pulled her hand out of Anna's grasp and put Shadow's hand in her place. "I know, Anna, but you have to try. For me."

Anna sighed, but closed her eyes and focused like she did before. It was slow going, but Elsa could see Anna shift inch by inch back into mist form. Shadow, meanwhile, began to come apart and flow back into Anna. As it did so, Anna's form became more solid and seemed and looked to be more together.

Only after Anna had absorbed all of Shadow did she return to physical form and the change was astounding. Her broken bones were reset and many of the gashes and scrapes were gone. The bruises remained, but she didn't look as critical as she had. She fell asleep right away, but this was a true sleep, not the sleep of the dying.

"Thank you," said Elsa with tears in her eyes. Kristoff said nothing, content to hold his healthy, living Anna in his arms.

Lord Derek shook his head. "Thank Estelle."

Upon hearing her name, Estelle raced over to them. "Is mommy ok? Is she better?"

"Mommy is fine, Estelle, she just needs to sleep," said Lord Derek with a smile.

"Not. Possible," said the mirror in a dark, angry voice.

"What's wrong, brother? Things not going according to plan?" Said Grand Pabbie with a smile.

"There is still time to make it right," snarled the mirror and a dark mist began to pour out of it. "They do not have to survive this night for it to come to fruition, after all."

The mist took shape and form, becoming a massive, bearlike thing with a gaping maw filled with fangs. It began to charge at them when a burst of light flashed across the clearing and the shadow beast was no more.

Grand Pabbie lowered his hand and glared at the mirror. "Enough. You are finished, Fallen, and your plan has failed. Elsa, if you would be so kind as to restore what you had in place before."

Elsa nodded and with a wave of her hand the mirror was once again cover in ice. There were a few surges of dark energy against her barrier but they did no good and the sheet of ice held. With another flick of her wrist a small flurry appeared above the mirror and the ice sheet strengthened. "Let's see it scheme its way out of that," Elsa said with a smirk and Grand Pabbie smiled.

"Couldn't you have just left it in there if you weren't going to let it out?" Mused Kristoff as a few other trolls carefully maneuvered it into a hidden spot in the clearing.

Grand Pabbie smirked. "I could have, but then he wouldn't have gone into his prison with the full knowledge that his carefully laid plans had fallen to pieces with nary a hope of something ever coming by to let him lay them down again."

"What is it, anyway?" asked Kristoff as it vanished into the hillside.

"An artifact crafted by demons," said Lord Derek as he walked to fetch Estelle from the trolls she'd been playing with. "It was made to show God the true, ugly face of humanity so that he might reject us. They dropped it while they were carrying it up to him and it's been causing havoc here ever since. Or so the lore says," said Lord Derek with a bow to Grand Pabbie.

Grand Pabbie nodded at him. "That is not the whole truth, but it is the basic core of what happened," and he said nothing more after that.

Kristoff knew better than to push him, so he let the matter drop. "Well it's stuck now, so no sense in worrying about it I guess."

Lord Derek picked up Estelle and smiled at her. "Indeed. Now, if you don't mind, I think we should head back to Arendelle before too late. We have two very sleepy young ladies and I think that they would do better in a bed than not."

"Agreed," said Elsa as she stood up to bow to Grand Pabbie. "Thank you so much for your aid, Grand Pabbie. I hope the next time we meet it will be under less dire circumstances."

Grand Pabbie smiled. "Of course. Please return with Anna once she's healed. We would like to get to know you both a little better, after all."


	28. Homeward Bound

"What the devil were you thinking you daft fool? Who else could it have been? What other person in this kingdom would have had shadow powers?" Lord Derek had been howling at Captain Wells for over an hour without a care that what seemed to be the whole of Arendelle had gathered to watch the show.

"Lord Derek, you said yourself that she had already been wounded from her journey to Weselton, so it as much the Home Guard's fault as it is mine," he said as he tried to interrupt Lord Derek's stream, but Lord Derek would have none of it.

"Yes, they did shoot at her, but they did not expect a shadow mage to be visiting royalty! You, on the other hand, knew damn well who it was, or did you not think about that either?" screamed Lord Derek.

"You can't tell me that after what she did to you she isn't a witch," said Captain Wells in turn.

Lord Derek took a deep breath. "Captain, I want you to return the ship and settle into your chambers. You will then spend the remainder of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave.' Do I make myself clear?"

Captain Wells scowled, but bowed. "Inescapably, Lord Derek," he said before marching away.

Lord Derek sighed and turned to face Kristoff, who'd been sent down to the docks by Elsa to keep an eye on things while she tended to Anna. "Well now that's taken care of. I would turn him over to you, but I think that the lords of Weselton will want to reap vengeance upon him themselves. I can send you any parts he loses if you like."

Kristoff shuddered. "No thanks. I think we can take your word for it." Kristoff turned around to go back to the castle and Lord Derek fell into step beside him.

"You know, you're being a lot calmer about this whole thing than I thought you'd be," said Kristoff once they were out earshot of the general populace. "If I'd been in your shoes I think I'd be a lot angrier at Anna."

Lord Derek chuckled. "Kristoff, I am a veteran of Weselton politics; hiding my emotions is a tool of the trade. At that moment, my rage was boundless. There were not words for how much I loathed her highness for what she did to me. My calm has returned somewhat, but I still very much consider myself at odds with Princess Anna."

Kristoff was shocked. Lord Derek said it with such casualness that it was unnerving. "Then why did you save her, if you hated her so much?" he asked after he found the words.

Lord Derek shrugged. "There was no reason not to save her. I wanted to do terrible things to her, unspeakable things, but when I saw what she looked like and how close to death she was, it didn't matter. She'd already done them to herself. And Estelle was there, calling her mommy," he added almost as an afterthought.

"Why does that matter?" Asked Kristoff as they reached the gates.

"Because Estelle had already heard the stories of how I'd made her mother 'go away,' I didn't want to paint a picture in front of her with the woman that she thought was her mother returned. She would have never forgiven me," said Lord Derek, not turning to face Kristoff.

"Estelle's opinion is that important to you?" Asked Kristoff, waiting to see what Lord Derek would say to that.

Lord Derek stopped, and the smile left his face. "Kristoff, Estelle is the light of my life and the fire that drives my soul. If not for the nightmares your dear Princess sent me, I would not be able to imagine my life without her. If she hated me I don't know what I'd do."

Kristoff nodded in agreement as thoughts of a dead and dying Anna flashed through his mind. "I think I know just what you mean. I don't know if this counts for anything, but Anna really is sorry about what happened."

"Let's hope so," Lord Derek said as he turned back to the door of the castle and waited.

Elsa came running out with Estelle, who was laughing and smiling as Olaf gave her a piggyback ride. A little plant creature was running beside her.

When Estelle saw Lord Derek, she got off of Olaf and ran up to give him a hug. "Daddy, it's so wonderful here! I can use my powers and talk to Mommy and Auntie Elsa! Can we stay here forever?"

Lord Derek laughed and picked her up. "I don't think so, flower. We have to go back to Weselton and tell everyone how nice it is here. But if Auntie Elsa allows it, we can return later."

"Oh please, can we?" asked Estelle with puppy dog eyes.

Elsa smiled at her. "Of course, Estelle. You may both come back whenever you like."

"Thank you, Auntie Elsa!" cried Estelle with glee. Lord Derek set her down and she raced back to Olaf. "Come on! I want to show you and Thistledown daddy's ship!"

"Who's Thistledown, flower?" Asked Lord Derek only to be answered with a goat-like bleat from the plant creature and he nodded in comprehension. "Ah. Well, be careful!" He shouted at her as she ran off.

Once the pair of them were out of earshot Elsa's face became serious. "I suppose that Arendelle's relationship with Weselton is at an end once again."

Lord Derek's eyes went wide. "Your Majesty, if I have done something to offend you then tell me and I will do my best to make it right."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Offend you? I assumed that you were leaving because of what happened."

Lord Derek shook his head. "No. It wasn't a pleasant experience to say the least, but personal isn't the same as important, and this is bigger than just me. I'm leaving so that I can settle the nerves of the Home Guard and let them know who they'd shot at. It was my intention to return as soon possible so that we might continue our discussions, if you would permit it."

"So long as you bring Estelle with you," said Elsa.

"Of course, your Majesty. I don't think I've ever seen her happy away from home so I would be pleased to bring her back," said Lord Derek.

"Anna certainly seemed happy with her, once she adjusted to the role of being Estelle's 'mommy'" said Kristoff.

Lord Derek froze and his face went blank. "She did, didn't she?" he said as he rolled the idea around in his mind. He stood still a few moments longer before Elsa spoke again.

"I will send someone to see you to your ship," said Elsa.

Lord Derek shook his head as he came out of his stupor and bowed again. "Thank you, your Majesty. Kristoff, I wish you much luck in the days and weeks to come. May your strength and stamina be up the tasks that will be set before you by your two companions."

"I, um, don't know what you mean, Lord Derek," said Kristoff with a stutter while Elsa blushed a deep red.

"Really? Then I suspect you're going to be learning a lot in the weeks to come. Tally ho!" He said and set off towards his ship.

Kristoff ran after him and caught him before he went very far. "You won't say anything to anyone, will you?" He asked Lord Derek.

He shook his head. "It's no one's business what you, the Princess and the Queen do in private. I will only suggest more discretion if you don't want rumors to abound." He patted him on the shoulder, then turned and waltzed back to his ship.


	29. The Wedding

"How are you feeling, Anna?" Asked Kristoff as he sat at the foot of her bed.

"Better," she replied as she absorbed another of her shadow creations. "I might even be able to get out of this stupid bed soon." After she'd recovered from her journey to Weselton, she'd made a habit of creating strong shadow creatures, regaining her strength and then absorbing them to accelerate her healing. In the days and weeks that followed she made recoveries that might have taken months or years otherwise.

"How soon, do you think?" Kristoff asked.

Anna shrugged. "If I made the last shadow as strong as I think I did then it shouldn't take more than the time I need to wrangle it." The shadows each seemed to take on whatever piece of Anna's personality was most apparent when she made it so a good number of them had been mischievous and sneaky and thus required a bit of coaxing before they would allow her to reabsorb them.

"Well, when you're better come on down to stable. Elsa and I have a surprise for you," said Kristoff with a smile. In truth he and Elsa had decided on what they would do when Anna was better weeks ago and were now just waiting for Anna to be able to act on it. It had been agonizing for them since Elsa had decided that their goal meant no sex while they waited, but Kristoff knew it was killing her as much as it was him.

"Alright, I'll be down in a bit then! Come on out shadow, don't be shy," she said as Kristoff left her room. Once the door was shut he raced to Elsa's chambers.

He heard moans when he got there so he rapped at the door and gave her a few seconds before slipping inside. "Elsa, it's time to get ready," he said, trailing off as he realized what he'd walked in on.

Elsa was still in her nightgown and she looked disheveled. "Wonderful, that's wonderful! Just give me a few more moments to prepare," she said as she smoothed out her nightgown.

Kristoff scowled. "You've been cheating, haven't you? You tell me to wait and you've been cheating again!"

Elsa blushed. "It's not like it's any different from what you do!"

Kristoff threw his hands into the air. "I have a hand! That's it! You have animated snow men! Explain how to me how they are the same."

Elsa bit her lip and turned even redder. "Well, after tonight it won't be an issue, I promise," she said as she came up and draped herself on him.

Kristoff pulled her into an embrace and gave Elsa a deep kiss. Their tongues wrestled with each other and fought for dominance in each other's mouths. When they broke for air, Elsa smiled and slipped out of his arms. "Just a little longer, Kristoff, then I'm all yours."

"All mine? I think Anna might have some things to say about that," said Kristoff with as a big grin crossed his face.

Elsa rolled her eyes and gave his shoulder a little slap. "You're impossible. Now out, I need to get ready and I want to surprise you."Kristoff grumbled but complied and went down to the stable to get the sled ready.

When he got down there he found that Sven seemed as pent up and frustrated as he felt. "You aren't the only one who needs to let go," said Kristoff for Sven. Ever since he and Sven had been adopted by the trolls they'd been closer than should be possible. The trolls weren't saying anything, but he knew that when he 'spoke' for Sven it was as if he was saying what Sven really felt.

"I know, buddy. It's got to be worse for you, what with no females around for you," said Kristoff in turn.

"Not even a mare and you have two," said Kristoff for Sven.

"I know, it's not fair. I'll try and work on that for ya buddy," said Kristoff and gave Sven a one armed hug. Sven licked his face in turn.

A little after Kristoff finished hooking Sven up to the sled, Elsa and Anna arrived in the shed. They both wore full body cloaks that were sure to cover up what dresses they wore and were giggling.

"Ready to go?" He asked and they both just laughed before going to sit in the sled.

"Ready? I was born ready," said Anna, now as healthy as she'd ever been.

"I've been ready for tonight for weeks now," said Elsa with as large smile.

"Well then I won't keep either of you waiting anymore. Hyah Sven!" Kristoff said, and with a wave of her hand they were surrounded with ice and snow and Sven was off in a shot.

Anna asked several times where they were going while they traveled but Kristoff and Elsa kept silent and smiled at her. It wasn't until the last part of the journey that she began to recognize where they were going.

"Kristoff, isn't this the path to your family?" she asked as they made the final turn.

"It is!" he said as he pulled Sven to a stop. He leapt from the sled and helped Elsa and Anna down, leading them to the middle of the clearing.

Within moments his family woke up and gathered around him like they did every time he came to visit.

"Take off your clothes, I'll wash them," said an older female troll.

"You don't eat enough, here, let me get you something," said another.

"Lovely to have you back, Elsa and Anna. Are you here to marry our Kristoff?" asked Mamma Bulda.

"Yes they are," said Kristoff and all activity stopped.

The trolls blinked at him a couple times before they erupted into cheers.

Elsa reached over and gave Anna a hug. "I hope that's enough of a surprise for you," she said as a large smile crossed her face.

Anna, meanwhile, just stood there for a moment until what she could comprehend what Kristoff had just said, then she raced up and tackled him to the ground. "You wonderful, frustrating, smelly man! Yes yes yes!" she said with a gleeful smile, interspersing each 'yes' with a kiss.

After she let Kristoff up, the female trolls lead Elsa and Anna away while the male trolls of his family guided Kristoff over to his own area while they made his garments. The trolls thought that special clothes should only be worn once which was the reason that they'd remade their wedding garments each time they'd come to visit. It wasn't that they wouldn't last, since trolls could make even the simplest garments and ensure that they would last for eons, but they didn't want the special nature of a particular set to wear out after its time had passed.

The men of his troll family took only a moment to decide what he would wear. To them he was as good as royalty so they didn't let him go free until they'd decided that he looked enough like a prince to go out. The women of his family, meanwhile, seemed to have decided that since Elsa and Anna were both human royalty they would then be about the same as troll royalty and so treated them the same.

When he finally had the chance to look at the pair of them, Kristoff was astounded. Anna wore one of her new green dresses and it worked wonderfully on her, but what really shocked him was Elsa. Instead of a flowing dress made of ice and snow, she'd decided to wear a green dress as well, carefully crafted out of little leaves and vines and budding with flowers every so often.

"I worked on it with Estelle while she was here. She really does have a gift," said Elsa when she caught him staring.

"I'm jealous she didn't make one for me," said Anna with a smile as they were all three guided to a pit that had been dug out for them.

"Always next time," said Kristoff as they were plopped down inside the pit. The trolls gathered around them and Grand Pabbie showed up with a large book in front of them.

Grand Pabbie opened the book and began to read. "Dearly beloved, we gather today to witness these three souls join in a bond of love, joy and happiness. Kristoff, do you take Anna and Elsa to be your trollfully wedded wives, to love and cherish, protect and care for as long as you are able?"

"I do," said Kristoff and Elsa and Anna both smiled.

Grand Pabbie turned to Anna. "Anna, do you take Kristoff to be your trollfully wedded husband and Elsa to be your Trollfully wedded wife, to love and cherish, protect and care for as long as you are able?"

Anna almost said yes and then realized what Grand Pabbie had said. "Wait, Elsa's my sister, I can't marry her," she said, eyes wide.

The trolls murmured amongst themselves but Grand Pabbie just nodded. "Anna, if you wish to enter into a true marriage with Kristoff and Elsa, you must marry them both or you may marry neither."

"A true marriage?' She asked Grand Pabbie.

"Marriage here, he means. It's important," said Kristoff quickly.

Anna bit her lip, but nodded in agreement. "Well, if it's important, then yes. I do."

Grand Pabbie nodded in approval and turned to Elsa. "Elsa, do you take Kristoff to be your trollfully wedded husband and Anna to be your Trollfully wedded wife, to love and cherish, protect and care for as long as you are able?"

"I do," said Elsa without hesitation.

Grand Pabbie smiled. "Then by the power granted me by The One Above All and through the grace of our clan, I bid thee three bound in marriage and welcome Elsa and Anna to our family!"

The trolls around them erupted into cheers and all three of them smiled. This was going to be a night to remember.


	30. Later That Night (nsfw)

The celebration lasted throughout the night but Kristoff, Anna and Elsa didn't get much chance to be alone together for the first few hours. Each time they tried to sneak off one the trolls would give Anna and Elsa drought of some red colored liquid and Kristoff a draught of something green. They seemed to keep track of how much they were drinking, to, making sure that each time they emptied their glass it would be replaced by something stronger.

Kristoff knew that he was drinking more than Anna or Elsa were as well, since it felt like for every three or four glasses he finished they may have one or two, but he couldn't stop. There was something about it that just kept him going.

After Kristoff's eighth or ninth glass he saw Momma Bulda stand up on a large stump and clap her hands together to gain the attention of the surrounding trolls. "Kristoff, Anna, Elsa. As the newest members of our little clan, I wish you all the best of luck in the weeks, months and years to come, and may all of your births be trollish ones!"

The trolls around them all cheered and soon enough the three of them had been pushed together again. To their astonishment, this time the trolls decided to build an enclosed shelter for them, leaving enough room for all three of them to lay in but only the slightest bit more.

After it was finished Momma Bulda stuck here head in and said "Have fun you three," with a big wink, then vanished out the door and they were left alone at last.

Anna was on him in an instant, smothering him with kisses. "I feel like it's been ages since I've been with you," she said as she peeled off his clothes. She tore at the laces on his pants in an almost frantic attempt to remove them, but each time she tried her fingers missed and just made the knot more complicated.

"This wasn't nearly as hard to do last time we got together," Anna muttered as she tried to rip the laces free.

Elsa, just as flush faced as Anna, laughed and crawled over to join her sister. "Here, let me try," she said and with a few gentle tugs the laces were undone and his pants began to come free only to be stopped by Kristoff's boots, which they had both overlooked in their eagerness to get to Kristoff.

Anna grumbled and went to pull off the cursed boots and was sent sprawling across the shelter when she jerked one free with a single pull.

Kristoff tried to get to the other one to pull it free himself but Elsa put her finger to his lips and pushed him onto his back. "You do so much for both of us, Kristoff. Let us do this for you," and just like that his other boot came off and was set next to the flap that lead into the shelter. Soon after that his pants came off and Elsa was on him like a shot.

"Well this is familiar," said Elsa with a smile as she looked down at him. She waved a hand over him and sent a chill of cold up his spine and gave his member a warm breath of air. The mixed feelings sent another chill up Kristoff's spine that was only magnified when Elsa began to bob up and down on his head like a child going after a lollypop.

She rolled him over in her mouth a couple times and little by little she took more and more of him in, dragging her lips across him as she did so.

"Hey, not fair. I want him too," said Anna from across the shelter as she went over to join her sister.

Elsa's only response was to move over a little bit to give her sister more access to Kristoff although she didn't let up from what she'd started.

Meanwhile Anna started to work at his balls, rolling them in her mouth and ever so slightly pulling her lips across them, moving her head in concert with her sister's actions on his tip. Elsa, though, was reluctant to give up her spot as she began to go down deeper and deeper on him, eventually taking all of him into her mouth and forcing Anna to move away.

"Hey, I want to deep throat him too," protested Anna as Elsa began to go at Kristoff in earnest.

Elsa rolled her eyes and took Kristoff in a few more times before letting Kristoff go. He made a 'pop' sound as he came free. "Well, here you are. Have you ever tried it before?" Asked Elsa as Anna eyed Kristoff.

"No, but it can't be that hard to do," she said as she began to take him in.

"Don't I have a say in this?' asked Kristoff, earning a determined glare from Anna who just shook her head and went down further, gagging a bit as she did so.

"Don't hurt yourself," said Elsa as she sat back to play with herself and watch Anna.

Anna, meanwhile, tried to take more and more of Kristoff into her mouth but found that whenever she tried to go more than halfway down on him she started to choke, so in the end she stuck with rolling his head in her mouth.

After a little longer, Anna came up off of him for a breath of air. "You make it look so easy," she said she gave Kristoff a long, hard look that he knew meant she was planning something.

"Practice makes perfect," said Elsa with a shrug.

"How much did you practice with him while I was out of my mind, then, hmm?" said Anna as she gave Elsa little glare.

"I, um, didn't practice with Kristoff," said Elsa as she turned scarlet.

"Who was it then? Oh God, don't tell me it was Kai," Anna said as a huge grin filled her face.

Elsa mumbled something, and her face turned a deep purple.

"I don't think I heard you, what was that?" asked Anna as her grin grew bigger.

"Marshmallow," mumbled Elsa a little louder this time.

Kristoff's eyes wide and he shot up, causing Anna to fall onto her back. "Marshmallow? But he doesn't have anything down there. At least, I didn't see anything on him before." He tried to picture Marshmallow with Elsa and his imagination shut down in self defense.

"I added a bit when you both left. I was lonely and seeing Kristoff there made me feel alive again, alright?" Said Elsa as she buried her face in her hands.

"Listening to us go at it in the castle didn't help, I bet," said Kristoff as he shared a smile with Anna. After they'd spent a few weeks getting to know each other better Kristoff had begun to live with Anna and they decided that they should have sex in as many different part of the castle as possible.

"Not. One. Bit," said Elsa. She leaned back and Kristoff saw her pert breasts strain against the flowering dress, threatening to spill out.

Anna went behind Elsa and put her arms around her. "I'm sorry, Elsa. That was rude of us and we promised to open the gates." Anna began to kiss up and down Elsa's neck while her hands moved across Elsa like a pianist's hands might move across a keyboard. One found its way into Elsa's dress and slipped out her breasts. Elsa's hard nipples made it clear that Elsa was almost painfully aroused by what was happening to her and Anna didn't hesitate to tweak and play with it.

Her other hand, meanwhile, drifted down lower and began to rub at Elsa's moist pussy.

"Anna, we can't do this," said Elsa in a feeble protest to the sensual magic that Anna was working on her.

"Elsa, I've wanted to play with you for years. I'm just catching up," said Anna, not letting up for a moment.

"But Kristoff's right over there," said Elsa, trailing off as Anna's delicate hands continued to wander over her body.

"Kristoff's fine the way he is. He can wait a moment more," said Anna as she put her now damp fingers in Elsa's mouth, which sucked at them greedily. Once Anna was sure she had Elsa's full attention, she pulled her fingers out, cupped Elsa's cheek and looked her straight in the eyes. Elsa's full red lips parted and her face flushed with desire. "This is just about you and me for now," Anna said as she pulled Elsa forward, their lips parting as they shared a soft kiss. As their lips brushed against each other, years of separation and longing melted away leaving only a radiant love for each other.

Anna's tongue ran across Elsa's lips before slipping through as she began to explore her sister's mouth. Their tongues touched lightly and slowly intertwined as her hand began to drift down the gentle curve of Elsa's waist. Anna could feel Elsa grow less tense with each passing moment until she was responding to Anna with as much passion as Anna was showing her.

When they pulled away from each other they were both breathing hard and Anna could feel her face beaming. "I love you, Elsa," she said in a husky voice.

Elsa just smiled and leaned into her sister and her lips brushed across Anna's. "I know," she said as she began to slowly kiss her way down Anna's neck. Her hands snaked around behind Anna and with a few deft movements Elsa unclasped her dress. With a gentle pull, it soon fell away to reveal Anna's ample bosom.

"No underthings?" Said Kristoff, who was now lying on his side on the grass in front of Elsa and Anna.

Anna's whole body flushed. "I didn't think that there'd be much point tonight," she said with a shy smile.

"Naughty girl," said Elsa as she slipped her hand up under Anna's dress, floating along her silk smooth legs until it found its way to Anna's moist, pulsing flower.

Anna shivered with pleasure as Elsa's cold fingers traced over her and she spread her legs almost without thinking. "Oh, Elsa," Anna murmured as she leaned back and sighed, her breasts rising and setting like the sun.

Elsa's hand drifted in lazy circles around Anna's clit while she continued to kiss her neck. "You've waited a long time for us to play together. Is it everything you wanted?" Elsa whispered.

"And more," said Anna, arching her back as Elsa's fingers played with her clitoris. Anna gasped as Elsa began to thrust her fingers inside her.

"Then it's a good we're as close as we are now, isn't it?" Said Elsa, smiling as Anna squirmed beneath her touch.

"Mhm," said Anna, struggling to maintain her composure as Elsa's fingers found their way deeper and deeper into her pussy, rubbing at her clit with her palm all the while.

Anna tried to grind up against Elsa's hand but she wouldn't let her, pulling out further each time Anna tried to move towards them. "Ah ah ah," said Elsa with a mischievous grin. "You didn't say the magic word."

"Please," moaned Anna as she lay back on the grass. "Pretty please with a cherry on top … oh!" Yelped Anna as she felt Elsa's tongue flit over down her.

Anna looked up and found that quick as lightning, Elsa had moved to a position between her legs. Elsa grinned at her and worked her fingers over Anna's pussy. "Since you asked so nicely," she said and with she went back to back to work.

Anna's toes curled as Elsa's tongue moved in time with her fingers over her pussy lips and she ran her hands over Elsa's hair. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Anna repeated to herself in a mantra.

Kristoff, meanwhile, was being driven mad by the scene unfolding before him. The smell of raw sexual passion was intoxicating and it was all he could do to restrain himself from simply ravishing either Anna or Elsa, yet at the same he didn't want to move to pleasure himself for fear that it would detract from the mood.

What made it worse for him was that he could see that Elsa was just as charged up as he was, dripping wet and gasping as her pussy quivered.

When Anna looked up and saw how ready for action he was, she gave him a impish grin and, gathering as much of her sense together as she could, said "Elsa, turn around."

In a moment Elsa had repositioned over her sister and was soon moaning right along with her as Anna tried her very best to give to her sister what Elsa had done for her.

Kristoff growled in frustration, ripping out clumps of grass as he tried to hold himself back.

Elsa looked up at that and, seeing Kristoff's pent up passion, smiled at him and gave him a wink. In a flash Kristoff was up and positioned over Anna.

"Hey, what's going on down there?" Asked Anna as the missing sensations worked their way into her sex addled mind.

Elsa ignored her and instead bobbed up and down on the head of Kristoff's cock a couple times before helping him slide into Anna. "I'm not the only one here who loves you, Anna," said Elsa before she went back to working her tongue as deep into Anna as she could while Kristoff thrust in and out with the meticulous rhythm of an ice harvester sawing free a chunk of frozen pond from the mountains.

Anna's attempts at matching Elsa failed as a delirious wave of pleasure rolled over her, filling their little space with animalistic squeals and moans as Kristoff pounded and throbbed inside her, his shaft shuddering in delight at the tightness that was Anna.

As Anna's arousal grew, her hips rose up to meet Kristoff's thrusts and he thrust with wild abandon, grunting with each thrust. It had been too long since they'd been together like this and they were determined to make up for lost time.

Elsa, meanwhile, decided to reposition herself so that Kristoff and Anna could better flow together, so instead of lying in a sixty nine over Anna she lay beside her, one leg straddled over her while she tended to her sister's nipples.

Anna's eyes rolled up in her head and she writhed beneath their combined efforts. It had been one thing to have her pussy eaten and prodded or her nipples to be played with, it was quite another to have them both played with simultaneously.

Within moments Anna was screaming as orgasmic pleasure filled her more than it had ever done before, leaving her with nothing more than incoherent ramblings as she settled back onto the grass.

Kristoff, still hard, grinned at Elsa. "Ready for your turn?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.

Elsa grinned at him. "God, yes. I've been ready all night," she said as she lay back and spread her own legs.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, after they'd all settled down, Kristoff relaxed and curled up with both Elsa and Anna. "So I suppose we should all share a room in the castle, since we're all married."<p>

Elsa sighed dejectedly. "I wish it was that easy, but I'm afraid that if we all started living together the bishop would have a heart attack. Its one thing to have a magical queen, but I think it would be quite another to have a magical queen who 'doesn't live according to Christian morals," she said with a grumble. It had taken some convincing before the bishop had gotten behind the idea of someone with her powers ruling a Christian nation and even then he had a few doubts.

"Then one of us will have to marry someone else as well," said Anna as she nuzzled deeper into Kristoff's chest.

"If it worked in the Old Testament it should work for us," muttered Kristoff as he thought of Jacob and his two wives, Leah and Rachel.

"Not the same, I'm afraid. You'll just have to marry me when we get back," said Elsa as she closed her eyes and snuggled up closer to Kristoff as well.

Anna shot up at this and glared at Elsa. "You? Why should he marry you? I met him first, he should marry me. You can marry some other royal."

"Because I'm queen," said Elsa, not even bothering to glance at her sister when she responded.

"That's bullshit!" Cried Anna and she scrambled across Kristoff to get at Elsa.

Kristoff reached up and held Anna back before she could do anything. "Perhaps you could compete for it?" He suggested.

Elsa opened her eyes and sat up on one arm and Anna stopped struggling against him. "What do you mean?" Asked Elsa.

"Maybe whoever has my child first could be the one I marry," he said with a shrug.

"Then we're not done yet tonight, are we?" Said Anna with a sly grin and wriggled out of his grasp towards his cock.

"Not in the least," said Elsa as she shimmied out of his arm as well and joined Anna.

Kristoff groaned but made no move to stop them. It was going to be a long night.


	31. The Update

**This has been a busy few days in Frozen - Land here at home; you might notice a few changes.**

**First and foremost, I've renamed this one. That might be obvious at a casual glance, but if you ask "Why oh why did you change the title, Archtech88?"**

**Simply enough, I didn't like the original title. I thought I'd be able to drop it in all clever like and such, but events conspired to keep that from happening. It also seems a bit more flip than the story became. Hope it isn't too confusing!**

**I've also merged the first couple of Chapters together, removed the things that (to me) made Lord Derek a Marty Stu and have generally gone back and made the story make sense in context with "Elsa and the Wendigo," throwing more references to it into the text and generally improving things.**

**As such, if you haven't read "Elsa and the Wendigo," I cannot place enough emphasis on reading it. It will give context to the new references now and will generally help explain a few things that have happened.**

**I hope that you enjoy the changes as much as I do!**

**Merry Christmas to you and Happy New Year!**

* * *

><p><strong>PS - Keep an eye out for a new Frozen Story from me in the next few months. Should be a doozy! :~)<strong>

**PPS - If anyone cares to Draw Fanart, Do It! Then send it my way! I will for sure post it.**

**PPPS - I've changed up the last chapter a bit, taking out "Teeth" and replacing it with "Lips." I've had good experiences with teeth but it seems most others are thrown out of the story by their mention. **


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